Weather Patterns
by Epona3
Summary: I created a post S3 Annie and Auggie relationship in Sunshine and Rainbows, and this started as a continuation of that world. At this point, it is just a lot of one-shots of the A&A relationship. Lots of angst, secrets, fluff, and backstory.
1. On the Radar

_While I wasn't ready to go forward with Sunshine and Rainbows, there were a few moments that I was sad that I couldn't include. So this series is to share those in the form of one-shots. Who knows how far these my go! I hope you enjoy._

_These will make a lot more sense if you have read S&R _

_This first one is very short, but oh-so-necessary! _

* * *

"Auggie, a moment please?" Joan's tone was disturbingly serious.

"Yes ma'am." Auggie replied as he rose and took her arm.

Nothing was said until they got to her office and closed the door. Joan didn't encourage him to sit.

"Auggie, what are you and Annie up to?"

Her directness caught Auggie momentarily off-guard, which made it easy for him to show complete confusion. "What do you mean?"

Joan sighed. "Skip the evasions. I know that you and Annie are up to something. Since you are involved, I'm not too worried, but I would like to be read in sooner rather than later."

Auggie was silent for a moment.

"Tell me, August."

He inadvertently rolled his eyes at the use of his real name. "Are you spying on us, Joan?"

"It wouldn't take a spy to see that something is up. I know that you and Annie have spent just about every free moment since Amsterdam together. I know that your door has been shut when she talks to you more than you have ever shut that door. I know that when she received her most recent mission, the two of you couldn't wait to talk about it in private. I know that you know what she's doing. So as your superior I am ordering you: Read. Me. In."

Auggie took two deep breaths and turned away. "Joan," he started. Then he turned toward her and lifted his eyes, hoping he was close to making eye contact. "It's not what you think."

" Please tell me she isn't researching more information from Eyal." Joan's voice pleaded.

"No." Auggie replied in an even voice. "We're dating."

Stunned silence wasn't a usual reaction for Joan. Auggie worried that she wasn't happy with his new relationship, until he heard a light laugh. "Really?" Joan asked.

Auggie smiled. "Yeah."

"And when were you planning to complete your paperwork?"

"Soon." Auggie drew out the word.

"I expect it on my desk as soon as Annie is back."

"Yes ma'am." Auggie replied.

"And congratulations, Auggie."

"Thanks Joan."

Auggie returned to his desk with a smile that scared Barber a little.


	2. Paperwork

"I completed the Close and Continuing just after talking to Joan. For that alone, you owe me." Auggie told Annie on the phone as soon as she landed back in DC.

"How much do I owe you?" Annie asked, with a tease in her voice.

"Do you know how inaccessible government forms are? I've had Stu convert most of the regular everyday ones to formats that are easy for me to complete. But for me to complete a form that Stu hasn't worked his magic on, without assistance, I'm not sure what that's worth."

Annie had a lump in her throat. Auggie was good at hiding the frustrations of his life, but every now and then there were details that she never considered. "Is it worth me picking you up, having a quick dinner, and letting you have your way with me?"

"That's the reason I went through the effort in the first place, my dear."

"I'll be there in fifteen."

...

They were at the small restaurant near Annie's guesthouse, waiting for their food. "So when you had to fill out the twelve pages of paperwork for the OCA position, was Stu involved?" Annie asked.

Auggie sighed. "That was the worst. I was stuck in a room with Gene, and we did all the paperwork verbally."

"I never thought about it."

"Don't worry about it. Excessive government forms are part of our job, and navigating them is part of my life."

"I would have been happy to fill out our form."

"Joan was _not_ going to wait. It was a close call, and I'm glad that I had our relationship to reveal when she cornered me."

"Joan would understand if you waited."

Auggie's expression and voice changed. "Annie," He reached for her hand. "Somehow, you have always treated me as though my blindness is no big deal. But the truth is, there are many times on a daily basis where normal tasks become extraordinarily difficult. Call me stubborn, but sometimes I want to push through it, just to prove that I can."

"I understand." Annie replied.

"Yeah?" Auggie asked, a slight grin forming. "So when you spend more time at my place, and find out that there more kitchen tools that talk to you than in a Disney movie, you won't be freaked out?"

"Only if they dance around." Annie replied. "Otherwise, Auggie, I want to know about these things. I don't want you to feel completely dependent on me, but I don't think it's fair for us to spend so much time together, and you feel like you need to hide anything that makes your life easier. I won't freak out over a talking appliance, needing to fill out paperwork, or you wearing miss-matched socks."

He squeezed her hand and smiled. "All my dress socks are the same."

"So you think."

He started to lean forward to kiss her. "Our food is coming." Annie stated, so he lifted her hand for a quick kiss, instead.

That evening, Auggie helped Annie re-arrange her guest-house so that it was a little easier to navigate, and put little dots of glue on the stereo controls so that he could navigate the music selection before having his way with her.


	3. The Sound of Thunder

**_I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I have! This one is much longer than the previous two._**

* * *

"Hey." Auggie answered the phone, knowing that it was Annie.

"I just got off the phone with Danielle." Annie's tone told him more than her words.

"What's wrong?" Auggie asked.

"Things are _not_ going well in California. She's moving back with the girls over Christmas break."

"I hate that for her, but I'm sure you will be happy to have your sister around, right?"

"Of course. But there's more to the news. Since her marriage is for-real-totally-over this time, she has to go ahead with selling the house."

"Do you think the new owners will still invite you to dinner?"

"Haha." She replied. "I hate moving."

"Everyone does."

"I feel so selfish, looking at all of this as how it will affect me."

"Either way, they would have sold the house, Annie."

"True. Maybe I should look at places on your side of town."

"That would be convenient. It's cheaper than Georgetown, at least."

"Everything is cheaper than Georgetown."

"So, what else did you and Danielle talk about?" Auggie asked.

"Ending her marriage pretty much monopolized the conversation. She did say that Katia and Chloe are excited to be back here."

"I'm sure you are excited to see them more often."

"Yeah. I miss them."

"You didn't tell her about us?"

"What do you mean? I told her about 'us' the week we became an 'us.'"

"Oh."

"You haven't told anybody yet, have you?"

"I told Pete." Auggie replied.

"I'm starting to think Pete doesn't really exist."

"He does, and he knows that I'm dating a fabulous woman from the Smithsonian."

"Fine."

Auggie sighed. "Don't look too much into it. My mom didn't even know about Parker."

"I wasn't looking into it." She said in a tone that betrayed her words.

"Uh huh."

"I'll see you in the morning?"

"Hey. What's bothering you?" He pressed the issue.

"Nothing. Just a lot to think about."

"Okay," Auggie replied. "I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks, Auggie. Good night."

"Good night."

Annie hung up the phone and sighed. "I will not look into this too much. I will not look into this too much. I will not look into this too much." She repeated to herself.

But it was hard not to look into it. She and Auggie had been dating for two months. He proposed to Parker after four. But even when Annie was looking at homelessness, he didn't bring up the idea of her staying with him.

And why would he? She was an independent woman. They had maintained their own lives. Even if he had asked her to move in, she would have most likely declined.

Right. This wouldn't bother her, because even if he had offered, she wanted an independent life. He knew her so well.

Except, why was he holding back?

She looked at the clock. It was only 8:00 PM, so she threw some clothes in a bag and got in the car.

...

Auggie was putting away dishes when he heard the knocking. He closed the dishwasher and walked to the door. "Who is it?"

"Me." Annie responded.

He pulled the door open and stepped aside for Annie to walk through. "What's up?" He asked as he closed and locked the door.

"I don't know. I just... Auggie. I don't know."

Auggie reached for her shoulders. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that there's a lot to think about, and I started freaking out."

"Let's talk it out. You want something to drink?"

"No. Well yes. Well. Hell, I don't know."

Auggie went to the fridge and got two beers. "You sound like you do."

"Thanks."

Auggie handed her a beer and sat next to her on the couch. "So, talk to me."

"You want to be with me, right?" Annie asked.

Auggie sat still, stunned. "More than anything."

"It's just, I kind of thought. Well. I mean. The thing is. Argh!" She put her head in her hand, frustrated.

"Stop. Breath." Auggie commanded as he ran his fingers down her arm. "Now. Form a complete sentence."

"You proposed to Parker after four months."

Auggie drew his eyebrows together. "That wasn't the complete sentence I was expecting. So?"

"So. I don't know. It's just, when I was talking about moving to this side of town, I thought you would be more excited, or even..."

"Oh."

"You didn't even joke about me moving in here."

"I didn't think... Annie, I didn't think you would want that."

"I wouldn't."

"Then what's the problem?"

"You proposed to Parker in four months, and you didn't even invite me to stay with you after two."

"But you don't want to stay here."

"That's not the important part."

"Annie, please. I don't know what's wrong. I didn't think you would want things to move so fast."

"I don't. I guess, I just wanted the option to be there."

"The option is there." Auggie stated. "You are more than welcome to come live here, if you can put up with the limited closet space."

Annie smiled. "Thank you."

"Are you sure that is all that's bothering you?"

"Mind if I stay tonight?" She asked.

...

Auggie was in the blissful state of being half awake, just feeling the warmth of Annie on the bed next to him. It was peaceful, a calm reassurance after the confusion of the night before. He rolled over and reached for her, and she touched him, gently. Auggie closed his eyes and drifted back toward sleep.

That was when he heard the car horn on the street.

"A cab!" Auggie said as he shot up in bed. Annie rolled away and looked at him in shock. "Don't go. Don't go. Don't leave me now, Annie." Auggie jumped out of the bed and walked to her side of the bed, reaching for Annie. He was practically flailing as he tried to find her.

Completely confused, Annie grabbed one of his hands. "Hey. I'm right here."

Auggie grabbed her arm, with his body completely tense. It wasn't like his normal touch - he was gripping her with all of his strength.

"Auggie, what's going on?" Annie asked.

"I heard the cab." He said, as if it explained everything. His fingers dug into her flesh.

Annie spoke softly. "Auggie, you're hurting me."

As if snapping out of a trance, Auggie relaxed his grip. "Sorry." He said, but didn't lose contact with her.

She pulled him in for a hug. "I'm not going anywhere." She reassured him. "And if I was, I have my own car."

Auggie looked pale. "Annie, I'm so sorry." He sat on the bed and put his face in his hands.

Annie rubbed his back and put her head on his shoulder. "Auggie, what happened?"

"I heard a cab." He knew it didn't make sense, but it was the only explanation.

Annie didn't reply, she only sat with him, assuring him with her touch.

"Did I hurt you?" Auggie finally asked.

"I'll be okay," Annie replied.

He turned and ran his hand down her arm. "I'm so sorry."

"You already said that." Annie replied.

"I... I've never had that happen before."

"What happened?" Annie asked.

"I think I had a post-traumatic _blind_ moment." Auggie stated with a bit of shock.

"What?"

"Last night you were upset. Then this morning I heard a cab on the street."

"That still doesn't make sense, Auggie. We are okay - I thought I made that clear last night?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I just..." He was taking very deliberate breaths. "Parker left me first thing in the morning. I heard the cab on the street and she was out the door before I could even get to her."

Annie sighed and pulled Auggie close. "So when you heard the horn this morning you thought I was leaving?"

"I know it doesn't make sense. Are you sure I didn't hurt you?"

"You have one hell of a grip."

Auggie grimaced.

"Some duo we are." Annie added. "Two super secret spies with abandonment issues."

Auggie laughed and pushed Annie onto the bed under him. "You should move in with me."

"You don't have enough closet space." Annie replied with a giggle.

"Then I should move in with you." He replied after giving her a kiss.

"Moving sucks."

"I don't have a lot of stuff."

"Neither do I. Maybe I don't need that much closet space."

"Whatever you want, Annie."

"I want you, Auggie."

* * *

**_A/N I want these two to have conflict. I want them to have a big non-forgivable horrendous fight. But they just keep being so darn agreeable. ARGH. _**


	4. Bruises

**_Ok. This might be an actual story going on. Do you want more?_**

* * *

Annie was returning from her normal mid-morning coffee run when Auggie was waiting in the hallway. "Predictability makes you vulnerable, Walker."

"I'll keep that in mind." She replied as he came to her side and reached for her arm, a little higher than normal. She fought a gasp as he gripped her sore arm.

"I did hurt you." Auggie said with a somber tone.

"I'm fine." Annie replied with some annoyance.

"Me hurting you is not fine."

"I didn't say that it was. But **I** am fine."

They entered the DPD and Auggie pulled her, gently, into his office. "Did it bruise?" He asked.

"Yes." She replied. "I have three finger marks perfectly on my bicep."

Auggie winced. "Come to my house tonight? I have a cream that will make that go away faster."

"It's a deal."

...

That evening Annie drove Auggie home and walked up to his apartment.

"Ok, dear. Off with your shirt." Auggie told her.

"Randy, are you?"

Auggie gave a seductive growl. "Yes. But first I want to take care of your arm."

"Oh, yeah." Annie said as she pulled off her shirt. She followed Auggie into his bathroom.

"This stuff is magical." Auggie said as he pulled out a tube of ointment and checked the Braille label.

"I guess you get a lot of bruises." Annie said.

"I get a lot of sore spots," Auggie replied. "I don't really know when they bruise." He put a little bit of the ointment on his fingers and Annie took his hand. She placed his fingers on the marks they had made the day before. He gently massaged the ointment in, and pulled away.

"Oh." Annie said, grabbing his hand before he could use it to put the lid on the tube of ointment. "You created more purple marks on my skin than that." She said seductively.

Auggie looked shocked, but Annie placed a dab of the ointment on his finger. A look of confusion crossed his face as she guided his finger to her neck. "You are lucky that it's winter, but I'm a little tired of wearing scarves to cover the marks of your love, dear."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Auggie asked.

"I don't know. Didn't really matter."

Auggie kept his hand on her neck, touching the area that he enjoyed kissing so much.

"Besides," Annie added. "You have a few marks of my love, as well."

"I do?" Auggie was genuinely shocked.

Annie laughed and ran her finger over the base of his neck, circling a fading bruise.

"I need to know these things." Auggie said with a serious tone.

"I promise not to let you go to work with a giant visible hickey."

"You were gone for two days! I didn't wear a collar yesterday."

"Oh crap. Sorry?"

"You should be." Auggie said as he leaned into her for a kiss.


	5. Secrets

**_Yes, I'm spamming this weekend. I had a very intense part of this story started, but after the stress I had last week I couldn't get myself to write any more on that part, so I ended up with some fluff. I meant to have this in the original story, and it totally slipped my mind._**

* * *

The problem in Annie and Auggie's relationship, even before it was romantic, was that Annie always had to be the designated driver. Tonight, that meant that Auggie was a good bit tipsy while Annie was still a little on edge from the long workday. They were at Annie's house, and she wasn't planning to take him home later.

Auggie had plans of his own, which involved barely waiting to get inside the door before he was trying to undress her. She was locking the door behind them when he started pulling off her jacket. He held the discarded jacket in his left hand as he reached for her jaw for a kiss. Instead of reciprocating, she turned toward the kitchen to get herself a beer, leaving Auggie's hand trailing from her jawline to her shoulder, catching on a long chain in the process.

Annie walked to the kitchen while Auggie tried to find an empty hanger for her jacket. She returned with two beers, and finished the kiss that he tried to start earlier. With the hand that wasn't holding the beer Auggie touched her neck again.

"When are you going to tell me about that necklace you keep hiding?" Auggie asked as they pulled away.

Annie closed her eyes. "I'm not hiding it."

"You've been putting it out of my reach since the night we first kissed." Auggie replied.

"Not because I'm trying to hide it." Annie explained. "I just don't want it in the way."

Auggie pinched his eyebrows together as he considered her words. "You got it in Russia, right?"

"How do you know that?" Annie responded, shocked that he had guessed correctly.

"You didn't have it either time you were in the hospital." Auggie replied. "And you have had it on ever since you got back. Is it related to Simon?"

The look on Auggie's face nearly broke her heart. He was concerned, but a little bit uncertain. She tapped his free hand and softly said "Come here," as she led him to the couch. She sat close to him and took a long drink of her beer.

"I wasn't intentionally hiding it." She re-stated.

"You certainly have made it a top priority to keep it out of my reach." Auggie said.

Annie reached for his empty hand, and carefully placed the chain into his palm. Auggie sat his beer on the side table while he ran the metal through his fingers until he reached a key. "It was Simon's." She stated.

"But you didn't get it from him." Auggie stated, rather than asked.

"I met his sister, in Russia. She gave it to me."

Auggie knew the two had met. "But that was before you were caught." He stated.

"I met with her again, after."

"You never told me."

"We haven't really talked about it, much."

"So what is the significance of the necklace?"

"It's the key to an old steamer trunk that their family would pack everything inside when they moved. It was a symbol of something that was constant."

Auggie was still running his fingers over the key. It was solid, with a comforting weight. "So do you wear it for Simon, for his sister, or for something constant?"

"All three, I guess." She responded. "After I escaped, it was the first thing that gave me any comfort."

"Eyal didn't give you comfort?" Auggie asked. He was definitely asking braver questions because of the alcohol.

Annie placed her hand over Auggie's and the necklace. "I was glad to see Eyal, sure. But there is nothing constant about him."

Auggie turned his hand over, leaving the necklace in Annie's palm. "You were in love with Simon."

"Yes." Annie responded without hesitation.

"Instead you had to settle for the blind geek." He said with a somber tone.

"You know that is not true."

"I've never killed anybody for you."

"But you would, if needed."

Auggie gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"And you would be far less likely to need to, since we work for the same side. You know as well as I do that there was no future for me with Simon."

"I know what it's like to love someone of whom the Agency disapproves. I know what it's like to want to run away with that person." Auggie responded.

Annie looked at the necklace in her hands. "I wasn't going to go with him."

"But you wanted to."

"You actually went with Natasha." She stated.

Auggie nodded again and took a long drink of beer. "Yep."

"And if she came back?" Annie asked, staring at him.

Something changed in Auggie, with her question. He reached and cupped her face in his hand. "I want you, Annie. Natasha was from another life, a life I said goodbye to last year. If she came back, I would still care for her, just as I care for many of my friends, but you are the only woman that I want, romantically."

She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss. "And if Simon were still here today?" Auggie asked.

"We would have gone our separate ways that day in Danielle's kitchen. I'm not 'settling' for you, Auggie. I would have chosen you over him, if the option were available."

"I was too caught up in my own world." Auggie explained.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Annie stated.

"You are here for me now."

"Likewise." Annie replied. "And I take off the necklace, because I don't want Simon to be between us. I want what we have to be just us. But I don't want to forget him, because he is somebody I loved, who I nearly died with."

Auggie nodded. "Thanks."

Annie sat beside him in the couch in peaceful silence.

"You know I would do anything for you, Annie." Auggie said quietly. "But I'm not Simon, Eyal, or even Ben. I can put up a good fight in close quarters, but I can't rescue you from a Russian prison, shoot the bad guys, or even jump off a train to follow you."

Annie squeezed his hand. "When did you become self-conscious?" She asked with a grin.

Auggie gave a big smile and turned toward her. "Probably around the same time I decided I wanted to kiss you." He replied.

"I love you Auggie. I hope you know that."

"I love you too, Annie." He said, then she leaned into his arms and they sat together, just feeling and listening to the other's breath.

* * *

_**And that's all ya'll get this weekend. Seriously. For real. Truly. I have to devote the rest of my writing for the remainder of the weekend, and hopefully next week, to my actual job. **_

_**... and maybe do some laundry. **_


	6. End of the Earth

_**A/N This one could fit anywhere in the story, time-wise. It comes from an idea that I've had in my head ever since Suffragette City aired, and finally, today, I figured out how to put it all together. **_

* * *

"Oh, you would have to fight for that one." Annie commented to Auggie. They were discussing possible future changes at the Agency. It was turning out to be more of a wish-list than actual possibilities.

"I don't mind a good work related fight every now and then. They can get pretty exciting."

"Yeah, I heard."

Auggie pinched his eyebrows together. "What did you hear?"

"I heard that you were a man on a warpath when I was in the hospital."

Auggie became a little more serious. "You heard that, huh?"

"From a few sources. Not sure how much is true, or if I got the full story, but I heard enough."

"Enough for what?" Auggie asked.

"Enough to know that you defended me far more than you should have."

"But I was right." Auggie said, as if all other options were silly. "It's easy to fight for things, when you know for a fact that you are right."

Annie waited a moment, then asked "But what if you weren't?"

"If you were really a traitor?"

"Yeah. Lena was right under the whole Agency's nose all this time, and nobody would have thought she was a traitor. It had to cross your mind as a possibility that I was actually who she said I was."

"Nope."

"That seems foolish for a super spy like yourself."

"Maybe it was. But I needed to believe in you. I needed to have something to focus on other that the constant beeping of the monitors by your bed. Without going to your defense, my only focus would have been the hospital shift changes, the strange smells only present in medical facilities, and the soft sound of your breath. I assure you that I would have found somewhere else to direct my anger if I didn't defend you."

"But what if you were wrong?" Annie asked, softly.

"If I were, I wouldn't have wanted to stay at the Agency anyway. If my judgment were that bad, if I had been a tool used by you to dupe the United States of America, I wouldn't have blinked before turning in my resignation."

Annie stared at him while he sat up, straightened his back, and while looking every bit like the soldier that he once was added "And then I would have used everything in my power to hunt you to the ends of the earth to be sure that you suffered for your crimes."

* * *

_**Would anybody like to see that AU? **_


	7. Violence and Sports

_**A/N: This story combines two ideas that I wanted to bring forward, and I'm worried that I didn't do either of them justice. But I want to read Pseudynitous' Superbowl story, and I don't want to read that before I finish mine, so I'm considering this one ready for press, even if it isn't. **_

* * *

"So, do you have plans for tomorrow night?" Auggie asked Annie over breakfast on Saturday morning.

"Well, considering it is a Sunday night, not really. What do you have in mind?"

"Seriously?" Auggie asked. He was a little bit shocked, but not as much as he might have been before he found out how little Annie knew of football.

"Am I forgetting something?"

"The Superbowl?"

"Oh right! I love watching those commercials!"

Auggie rolled his eyes. "A friend of mine is having a party. I'm going, if you want to join. But I'm following the game, not the mass consumerism."

"People actually care about the game?" Now Annie was genuinely shocked.

"When New Orleans played in the Superbowl in 2010, crime actually stopped in the whole metro area. The good and bad guys didn't come together to watch commercials about puppies."

"Oh I bet they were!"

"So do you want to come?"

"Of course I do."

...

Annie and Auggie ended up sitting on a small couch that had a horrible view of the TV. Auggie had an ear bud in one ear, listening to the play-by-play, and Annie was more interested in the people around them than the actual game.

With two minutes left in the second quarter, Auggie made his way to the restroom during a commercial break. When he came back, he heard everybody teasing one of the women about crying.

"What did I miss?" Auggie asked Annie.

"She cried over one of the commercials."

Auggie pinched his eyebrows together. "But they don't usually show the Clydesdales until the fourth quarter."

Annie pushed a fresh beer against the back of his hand. "I thought you didn't care about the commercials?"

"Not all of them. The Clydesdales are special."

"Well, this one was a puppy commercial."

"Ugh. The puppies are over-rated."

"I agree." Annie replied. The game started back, so the room got quiet for a little while.

"WHAT?! He killed somebody?" The same woman that had cried over the puppies screeched from the other side of the room.

"I take it that she just found out about Ray Lewis?" Auggie asked the room.

"Yep. And she was having so much fun rooting for the purple team." Said the guy that was with the emotional woman. Annie and Auggie never caught their names.

Auggie let out a laugh. "Well, the other 51 players are probably really nice guys. Ray Rice is, at least."

"How can you laugh about cheering for a killer?" The woman exclaimed.

"I'm not cheering for a killer. I'm rooting for the whole team."

"How can you be so calm about this?" The woman continued.

Auggie shrugged.

"Maybe it's a sad fact about today's society that we don't think anything of watching a murderer for entertainment." The woman continued. She was obviously a little bit drunk.

"Babe, calm down and cheer for the other team. I'll look up the criminal records of their players." The man with her suggested.

"It's a very physical sport. Violent tendencies off the field aren't a huge surprise." Auggie tried to reason.

"Well, I am glad that I don't work with people that have killed anybody." The host of the party said lightheartedly.

Auggie gave half a smile and shrugged. Annie squeezed his hand.

"So," Annie said. "What is everybody's favorite commercial so far?"

...

"If we leave now, we can get home before the Clydesdales are on." Auggie suggested at the start of halftime.

"Are you sure?" Annie asked. "You seemed to be having fun."

"Come on." Auggie said, standing up.

They thanked the host of the party and went to the car. When they were inside, Auggie took a deep breath. "Sometimes it takes hanging out with regular folks like that to remind me why I never wanted to be one of the regular folks."

Annie laughed. "Sometimes it seems like normal would be nice."

Auggie grimaced. "Never."

* * *

_**I could swear that the Clydesdales used for the commercials were from a large farm in Illinois, but when I fact-checked, the official Anheiser-Busch Clydesdales appear to be in Missouri. But in my head-canon, Auggie is a fan of the Clydesdales because of some home-state pride. **_


	8. The Hot Seat

Annie's flight from her mission in Chile was late, and she was exhausted. While she missed her boyfriend terribly, she missed her own bed more. Still, calling him was the first thing she did after landing.

"Will you be terribly upset if I go straight home?" She asked.

"Considering I won't be at work in the morning, yes." Auggie replied.

"Why won't you be at work in the morning?" Annie asked.

"Nothing major. Just an appointment."

"Auggie." Annie stated in a no-nonsense tone.

"Really. It's nothing to worry about. I'll be back at the office in time for lunch."

Annie didn't have the energy to beg the information out of him. "Okay. You would let me know if it were anything serious, right?"

"Maybe." It was as honest as he could manage. "But it's not anything serious."

"Fine. But I'm seeing your face at some point tomorrow."

"Definitely." Auggie replied. "Sweet dreams, dear."

Annie made a kissing noise into the phone and hung up.

...

The next morning, Auggie was tying his tie when he heard the knocking. He stopped and took a deep breath before heading to the door. "Annie?" He asked.

"Yep." The voice on the other side of the door replied.

Annie walked in, silently following Auggie to his closet where he reached for a vest. He was dressed conservatively in a plain white shirt, black tie, black vest, and dark grey pants. "I'm learning the downsides to dating a spy." Auggie stated as he buckled his belt.

"Court dates are public information. You could be dating a school teacher and she could find out what you were up to today."

"Only if she were snooping."

"You were less than forthcoming." Annie said, as if that should explain everything.

Auggie rolled his eyes. "It's no big deal."

"You could go to prison!" Annie replied.

"I won't go to prison." Auggie stated, calmly.

"You don't know that!"

"Yes I do." Auggie replied. "You really think I'm going into this less than prepared? I've had over six months." Auggie stopped and looked toward Annie. "I assume you are here to give me a ride to the courthouse?"

"Sure." She replied. After the mission she just had, Joan wouldn't argue with her taking a personal day. "Joan totally knows where you are, right?"

"Sometimes it sucks to work for a spy." Auggie replied.

"It didn't suck when Arthur bailed you out that night."

"Oh yes," Auggie replied emphatically. "That night sucked the most of them all. The last person I wanted around was Arthur Campbell. Do I look presentable?"

"Your clothes look fine. You might want to run a brush through your hair."

"Nah. I don't want to look too put-together. I intend to play the blind-card as much as possible." Auggie replied as he gathered his cane, bag, and keys.

"I can't believe that guy continued to press charges. Surely he doesn't want people to know he was beat up by a blind guy." Annie stated once they were in her car.

"He didn't press charges. In the case of assault, the District presses charges. He probably wants them to drop the case more than I do."

"I have to say that I was shocked this morning when I saw that you hadn't found a way out of this. Surely you know a guy you could call and make it all go away."

"Yep." Auggie replied. "But there are people with more connections than me, and Arthur really wanted to watch me squirm."

"Seriously? He is making you go in front of a judge because he's still pissed about this?"

"I don't think he's still pissed about the bar fight. I think he would have made nice, if I hadn't secretly visited Henry Wilcox, gone in his office and confronted him, or orchestrated with a Mossad agent to get you out of a Russian prison. Arthur is just trying to keep me in check."

"That's a tough job." Annie replied as she parked the car.

"You coming in with me?" Auggie asked as he put on a dark pair of sunglasses.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Annie replied.

Inside the courthouse smelled a lot like the Metro Police department, a mix of humanity with less than enough cleaning solution. After going through the security screening Annie helped Auggie find the right courtroom, where his attorney met him and had a few private words.

"Lucky thing about being an Anderson is that I'm always at the top of the list. There's one case ahead of me today. We should be out of here in time for a mid-morning coffee." Auggie explained as he and Annie found a seat in the back of the room.

"Yep. If you aren't off getting fitted for a jumpsuit." Annie replied with a smile.

"Har." Auggie replied.

Annie noticed that he was fidgeting with his cane more than normal. She put her hand on his leg. "It's going to be ok." She whispered, close to his ear.

Her words seemed to calm him a little. "Yeah." He replied.

She moved her hand from his leg to his hand, threading her fingers through his.

The first case went by quickly. Mr. Adams was a repeat offender that the judge seemed to know well from his frequent court appearances.

"Next is August Anderson."

Auggie took a deep breath and slowly stood and assembled his cane. He exaggeratedly tapped it twice on the ground and slowly made his way to the front of the court. The security guards had made him remove his glasses, which only barely hindered his blind-man show.

The actual time in front of the judge went quickly. Auggie's attorney pled for leniency, and the judge agreed to a lesser charge and a hundred hours of community service. Auggie's attorney noted that the options for Auggie to complete community service were less plentiful than for most, so the community service time was dropped to fifty hours. Auggie smiled, thanked the judge, and was led out of the room by his attorney.

"Sorry I couldn't get you out of the service." His attorney was apologizing as Annie walked up.

"Well you kept my record pretty clean, and that's the important part." Auggie replied. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem. Stay out of trouble now, ok?"

"Yep." Auggie replied as he took Annie's arm.

Auggie heard the attorney walking away and turned toward Annie. "See, no jumpsuit."

"That wasn't even exciting." Annie replied.

Auggie grinned. "Celebrate at Allen's?"

"They aren't even open yet." Annie replied. "And that would be highly inappropriate, considering the circumstances. How about we celebrate at Starbucks?"

Auggie sighed melodramatically. "Fine" He practically whined as he took her arm. "But the coffee at my house is even better, and Joan isn't expecting us at work any time soon." He gently moved his fingers on her arm.

Annie practically purred in response as she led him to her car.

* * *

**_I vaguely remember somebody telling me long ago that people that have had significant training in hand-to-hand combat can be charged, even in a hand-to-hand fight, with assault with a deadly weapon. I'm sure Auggie falls in that category... _**


	9. Spycraft

All week, Annie had been both nervous and excited. Auggie had seemed absolutely normal, if a bit amused at her anxiety. Wednesday night, she they were sharing a bottle of wine after dinner at his house when he sat his glass down and looked toward her very seriously.

"Since you are going to Glencoe with me this weekend, I need to fill you in on one little detail."

Annie sat down her wine, a little surprised at his serious tone. "Okay."

Auggie was almost fidgeting. "It's kinda more than a little detail." He said, biting his lip a little before continuing. "Of course you can keep a secret, but consider this highly classified information."

"Okay," Annie replied, confusion in her voice.

"Seriously. You can't utter anything about this to anybody at work. Not even to Arthur and Joan."

"What is it, Auggie?" Annie asked with concern.

"The people you are going to meet in Illinios, they are for all intents and purposes my parents and brothers. They raised me, I have their name, and there is nothing but love between us."

"They aren't your real family?" Annie asked.

Auggie took a deep breath and leaned back. "My mother died just after having me. My father wasn't the single-dad type, so he leaned on his sister and her husband who already had four boys. What's another, you know?"

Annie was silent.

"They formally adopted me, gave me the Anderson name, and totally raised me as their own. Of course, the older boys weren't so happy about having yet another little brother around, so they gave me hell. Pete - hell, Pete and I are practically the same age, so he and I grew up as best friends. But it was a rough childhood, to say the least."

Annie reached and took his hand in hers. "Go on." She stated, not sure why she couldn't say anything to Joan and Arthur. Surely they already knew all of this.

"Annie," Auggie said as he brought his other hand to hers, holding it tight. She could feel his palms, slightly sweaty. "My real father is Arthur Campbell."

The hand Auggie was holding, and the leg beneath it, were perfectly still. After an indefinite pause, Annie started breathing again. She was staring at him, searching for a sign that he was kidding.

His expression told her that he was dead serious.

"I... You..."

"Yeah." Auggie replied. "He was around, sometimes, as I was growing up. Enough that I knew he was my dad and stuff. He encouraged me to go into the Army, even though mom and dad were against it. He had his own plans for his super-spy of a son."

"And nobody suspected it, because of the last names?"

"Like hell if I was going to be like Jai Wilcox, riding on my father's coat-tails." Auggie replied.

"But Joan..."

"Joan knows." Auggie replied.

Annie was still looking intensely at Auggie, trying to find out if he was serious.

"I know it's hard to take in. It's probably the best kept secret of the CIA, and it has to stay that way."

Annie swallowed. "Yes. Of course."

Auggie let go of her hand as he stood up. "Come on. It's getting late. Let's take care of these dishes and get to bed."

Silently, Annie followed him and went through her bedtime routine. She was in a bit of shock. They climbed between the covers, and he reached for her. "Hey," he said.

"Hey." She replied in a soft tone.

"I'm still me, you know. The person you know. I never let this detail change who I was."

"Yeah. It's just... Arthur?"

"He had a lot of women in his youth. He wasn't married to my mom."

"Wow." Annie replied.

"Are you ok?" Auggie asked.

"Yeah. I will be." She cuddled close to him and tried to sleep.

The next day at work was the most awkward day of her life. Arthur came to Joan's office that afternoon, and they pulled Auggie in to go over some information. Through the thick blinds, Annie couldn't help but stare at the two men standing together. How had she never noticed the resemblance? It took all of her spy skills to act normal when she was pulled into the office with them. Luckily it was a quick meeting, they only wanted to ask her about some details from her last mission. She was able to get away quickly and regroup. The end of the day couldn't come fast enough.

Annie didn't give Auggie a choice after work, and drove them straight to Allen's. "You know if we go in there, you won't be able to talk about what you want to talk about."

"What is there left to talk about?" Annie asked, still sitting in her seat, buckled.

"How about how you could hardly breathe in the room with Arthur this afternoon."

"I just don't know how I never noticed it before." She said.

Auggie nodded. "Yeah. Kind of amazing that we've kept it under wraps all this time. Also, darling, and I say this with lots of love, but your spycraft sucks."

"What?!"

"As soon as you walked out of the room, Arthur and Joan asked what was wrong with you. I made something up, of course, but you totally were acting strange."

"I was not!" She replied. "My breathing was steady, I was making normal eye contact, I was perfectly composed."

"Uh huh. I even noticed you subconsciously holding your breath."

Annie huffed and started the car again, foregoing Allen's to get back to Auggie's apartment.

"Okay, no more talking about daddy Campbell." Auggie said as he pulled the door closed and turned the lock.

Annie got two beers from the fridge and tapped the back of Auggie's hand with one. "One other thing that you need to know before we go to Glencoe."

"I don't know if I want to know anymore." Annie said.

Auggie pulled her toward him and stole the beer from her hand. He sat both of their beers on the counter and placed his hands on both sides of her face, making perfect eye contact. "This is important."

"Okay," She responded. It was all she could say anymore.

He spoke emphatically. "I am a _fabulous_ liar."

He could feel her jaw drop, and her fist land on his shoulder. "You are horrible!"

"Oh no," He replied with a laugh as he moved further away. "I had you completely fooled."

"I never believed you." She replied off-handedly.

"Hah. Keep telling yourself that." He said with a grin as he re-took his beer but still kept his distance from her possible fury.

"What on earth possessed you to tell me that story?" Annie said. Her voice was almost laughing, so Auggie felt it was safe to let his guard down.

"Do you remember that time that you convinced Jai that Liza Hearn had a baby bump?"

Annie couldn't help but laugh at the memory. It was a few months after Auggie had broken his relationship with Liza, and she was on one of the TVs in the DPD. Annie had been standing with Jai and Auggie when she asked Jai if he thought that outfit Liza was wearing was hiding a pregnancy. Thinking back on it, Jai had seemed a little sick at the idea, as well, but she was totally able to convince both men that the reporter looked pregnant. "That was awesome."

"You think so. You realize you scared the shit out of Jai that day, as well?"

"Well, I didn't know it at the time."

"And you waited hours before filling me in that it was a joke. I didn't get any work done that day."

"So you came up with this little prank to get back at me."

Auggie gave her a grin and directed his eyes right at her. "Don't you ever doubt that I am still a ridiculously good spy."

Annie came close and surprised him with an enthusiastic kiss. She grabbed his hair with her hands and kept it there as she pulled back. "And don't you ever doubt that if you lie to me like that again, I will make you suffer."

Auggie stepped back and smirked. "Well, it got your mind off of meeting my parents for almost a full day."

* * *

_**A/N - Yeah. I went there. This all started as an idea I said I would never write on Tumblr. Then I had to defend that it would be believable... and the next thing I knew, I had it all worked out in my head. What do you think?!**_


	10. Breaker

_**I'm so glad everybody enjoyed that last chapter. It was hard to tell if it would be deceiving so it was awesome that so many of you claimed to be fooled! All I seem to want to write these days is this universe, so tonight you get more. **_

* * *

The only reason Auggie and Annie could both get ready for work in Annie's apartment was that Auggie didn't need to share the mirror in the bathroom. After brushing his teeth, he didn't need to be near the bathroom at all. He preferred to shave with his electric razor while Annie had the bathroom sink for all of her morning routine.

This morning the loud rush of her hairdryer cut off abruptly followed by the sound of frustrated cussing in the bathroom.

"Did you blow a circuit?" Auggie asked.

"Yes." Annie replied and sighed dramatically.

"Just hit the GFCI button." He stated.

"What?" She replied as Auggie walked toward her.

"By code, all bathrooms have to have a ground fault circuit interrupter, for moments like this. Well, it's for other reasons, too, but in general, the button should be right..." He had followed the cord of Annie's hair drier to the electrical outlet, and was feeling between the two plugs. "...here?" There was no button.

"Nope." Annie replied.

"Are there other outlets in here?" Auggie asked.

"One, but it doesn't have a button either."

"That's weird."

"I think the previous owners built this guesthouse themselves. It might not be up to code."

"Where's the breaker box? I'll go reset it."

"It's in the main house." Annie responded.

Even though Auggie had spent plenty of time in the guesthouse, he hadn't been in the main house. He doubted Annie had stepped foot inside since the shooting. "Just tell me where to find it." Auggie said, reassuringly.

"There's a key hanging on the left side of my door that will get you in the door directly across the courtyard. Once you are inside, follow the wall to your right until you reach the doorway on the other side of the room, into the laundry room. The box is on the left wall. How will you know which one to reset?"

"The tripped circuit jiggles, rather than being solidly on one side or the other. I'll take care of it and be right back."

Auggie took his cane and easily found the key by Annie's door. Once Annie saw him make his way into the main house without any problems, she went back to applying her makeup.

Auggie paused for a moment in the large kitchen, thinking about how it should feel, or smell, special because of what had happened there. Annie almost died, possibly right where he was currently standing. But it just smelled like an empty room, now.

He found the breaker box and was feeling the switches when he heard another movement in the kitchen.

"Slowly step back, and put your hands up." A male voice commanded.

Auggie stood, frozen for a moment. With his cane still in his hand, he turned toward the voice and slowly lifted his hands so they would be visible.

"Put down the stick." The voice said. Auggie could hear the uncertainty, and wondered if the guy actually had a weapon. Auggie wished for a moment that he had put on a dress shirt and tie for work, but since it was supposed to be a boring day of decoding with Barber, he was only in a dark long sleeved shirt. If there were wasn't much light, it was understandable that he was perceived as an intruder.

"Michael," Auggie said as he slowly sat his cane against the wall where he could easily reach it again. "I don't know if you have a weapon pointed at me, but I promise I'm not a threat." It was only a small lie, considering he had no intention of hurting Annie's soon-to-be-ex-brother-in-law.

"How do you know my name?" Michael responded.

Auggie hesitated a moment. While he had met Danielle a couple of times, it was possible that Michael had never even heard of him. "I'm a friend of Annie's. August Anderson." For good measure, Auggie put his hand out to shake.

Michael ignored his hand. "What are you doing in here?"

"Resetting the circuit breaker." Auggie said, stating the obvious.

"No, why are you in my house at seven in the morning?"

Auggie let a guilty grin spread across his face. "I'm keeping Annie from blow-drying her hair, right this moment. If you let me flip her electricity back on, I'll walk to the guest house with you so you can verify that I'm not the blind bandit."

Michael moved closer to Auggie and turned on a light switch. "I'll get it."

Auggie re-claimed his cane and stepped away from the breaker box. He heard the thick switch turned off and back on, and turned to walk toward the guest house. As they walked through the kitchen he heard something heavy placed on the counter.

"Were you going to attack me with a wine bottle?" He turned toward Michael as he asked.

"Gin," Michael replied. "I had to improvise."

Auggie nodded and kept walking. He opened the guest house door and stepped inside. "I hope you have on clothes." He stated loudly over the blow-dryer.

"I'll be ready in time, I prom-EEE!" Annie jumped into the bathroom and pulled the door in front of her body. "Michael!"

"Sorry," Michael replied, staying near the doorway.

"I got caught burglarizing an empty house." Auggie stated as he collapsed his cane and sat at the foot of Annie's bed.

"Michael, I didn't know you were in town." Annie stated through the door.

"I didn't think I needed to tell anybody that I would be in my own home." He replied with a hint of bitterness. "August said he is a friend of yours." He stated, questioningly.

Annie, with a towel for a shirt and dress slacks on the bottom stepped out of the bathroom. "Auggie is my boyfriend. I didn't know you were here." She walked toward the shirt she laid out on her bed as she spoke. "And the two of us are late for work. Will you still be around this evening?"

"I'm here all week. Maybe longer."

"Then I'll explain later?"

"No need. Sorry for the inconvenience." Michael said, almost shortly, before walking out.

As soon as the door was closed, Auggie laughed a breath. "He was going to attack me with a bottle of gin. He didn't see you naked, did he?"

"Nope. I was almost dressed, just needed my shirt."

Auggie gave a look that was almost a pout. He could hear Annie scurrying to finish getting ready. "I thought you told Danielle about us?"

"I did," she replied, calmly. "Obviously, she and Michael aren't talking much."


	11. Holding on to the Dream

A sudden movement next to her pulled Annie from her dream to the bed she was sharing with Auggie. She looked over at her companion, the source of the disturbance. His eyes were open, but his breathing was steady. Too steady, she realized.

"I didn't hear a horn this time." She stated.

Auggie stayed on his back, eyes to the ceiling, but reached out with one hand. Annie took the offered hand in her own. "Sorry I woke you." He stated.

"I'm not entirely awake. You okay?"

Auggie smiled a genuine smile. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Bad dream?" She asked.

"No, it was a wonderful dream, really. Trying to hold onto it."

"They say if you share your dream before breakfast, it will come true."

Auggie could hear the smile in her voice, but his smile faded. His eyes kept the same connection with the ceiling. "Not this time." He said, quietly.

Annie squeezed his hand. "What did you see?"

"The colors. There were so many colors. Vibrant ridiculous colors." He turned toward her and put his other hand on her face. "And you."

The tone of his voice made her heart melt. She inched closer to him. "You promised me once that you would describe me to myself."

"Mmm. God. I wish my subconscious would give me colors like that every night."

Annie waited, letting Auggie have his moment, knowing how fast a dream could slip away. She tried to imagine what it must be like to only see colors in dreams.

"We were on a mission together inside a large building. Somebody was chasing us, and we kept running down different corridors, each one painted in vibrant colors, almost like my old elementary school."

He smiled a little, putting the images together. "We kept ducking into these closets that exploded in color. Inside they were bright, and even more colorful than the hallway. I kept wanting to make out when we ducked into one, and you were so serious, wanting us to focus on the fact that there was a bad guy after us."

Annie laughed at the description.

"You looked different in each closet." He explained. "But I knew it was you. Your hair was blond each time, but it's like my mind tried to put different faces with your body - which was a petite Jessica Rabbit by the way - to complete the picture."

Annie couldn't help but shed a tear, listening to such an open confession. She watched as he squinted, as though the action would hold the images in.

"I think I woke up when I pulled back from kissing you and saw Joan's face."

"What?" Annie asked, horrified.

Auggie laughed a breath. "It wasn't any sort of subconscious message about how I feel about Joan. I think I saw the face of every blond woman I was around within a year of my accident. It was just my brain's way of giving me an image. But each time, I knew it wasn't right."

He ran his fingers over her face, settling on her mouth. "They never had the right lips."

He could feel her smiling beneath his hand.

"I have visual dreams all the time. But usually they are very simple. Faded colors and if there are other people they are little more than blobs of hair and clothes. But this one was fantastic."

Auggie's smile grew. "Besides, I enjoyed seeing Joan again."


	12. Just A Normal Day

Auggie was finished with his shower, but wasn't ready to step out into the CIA locker room. He didn't have many days like this, but there were times when the limits of his life seemed to box him in with giant invisible road blocks in every direction.

Annie was on a mission. It was almost the worst kind of mission, as far as Auggie was concerned. It was long, far away, and required very little help from him. This was the third morning he had woken up without her. Considering how new their relationship was, it shouldn't be a big deal to wake up alone. They slept apart frequently. But for some reason, her absence was felt more this time than the others.

He got ready by his usual routine, drinking two cups of coffee before the ride-share came to pick him up. He was picking up his cane, badge, and wallet, when he accidentally pushed his badge off the tray, behind the couch. He didn't even have a clue how it happened - the tray where he kept these items had raised edges, just for this reason. But he clearly heard it hit the floor, and it definitely wasn't on the tray anymore. He pushed the couch forward and reached across the ground to find the badge.

He found a dime, an old thumb drive, and lots of dust, but his badge, which was necessary to get into the building at Langley, eluded him. His phone rang, the ride-share driver was wondering why he wasn't at the curb. He was about to tell them to go on when he ran his hand up the back of the shelf and found the badge, caught on the back of the ledge. He stood up quickly, and after running into the displaced furniture he rushed to the van.

Auggie enjoyed breaking codes. There was a thrill in having unintelligible letters and numbers suddenly turn into data, which turned into information, which turned into missions. The thing was, sometimes there were days upon days where between him and that thrill was simply a bunch of unintelligible letters and numbers. There was no thrill, only frustration. Boring, mind-numbing frustration. This was Auggie's third consecutive code that involved this sort of frustration - mindless hacking for days on end. The first two codes hadn't even led to any fun results, just clarification of stuff the CIA already knew, and a new pile of letters and numbers in Auggie's in-box.

So after crawling on the floor to find his badge, Auggie rushed to a job which, at the moment, was boring him to death. Even reviewing the latest in the Department of Science and Technology's creations didn't ease his boredom. He needed real action, even if it was just in his ear piece. But that would mean that Annie was in danger, and he wasn't going to wish for that.

Instead of eating lunch, Auggie went to the gym. He didn't need to release frustration on the heavy bag this time, he needed the exertion of stretching his legs. His brother had been out of town for the past few weeks, and while Annie was fit, he couldn't really stretch his legs when running with her. Even at her fastest, Annie was no match for his tall frame. The treadmill, something he avoided like the plague before he lost his sight, was his only option.

The treadmills at Langley weren't set up for blind use, but all treadmills were pretty much the same. He found one with a working emergency cord, stood on the conveyer belt, and started pushing buttons. Once, he had Stu come to the gym and help him label one of the treadmills, but a month later that one was traded out for a newer model, and Auggie just didn't care enough to continue to label the equipment. He had no idea what incline or speed he was jogging, but all he knew was that it felt as good as a treadmill would feel, and as he got his bearings, he could make it go faster.

He did make it go faster, and soon his muscles were aching with the stretch. His legs were also aching from running into the front of the machine. There was a careful balance to run all-out without one leg falling off the back or one hitting the front. The experience ended up being as frustrating as it was exhilarating. After almost falling off, and disconnecting the emergency cord, for the fourth time, Auggie decided he would just get back to work and get his thrill at Allen's at the end of the day. Maybe he could talk Eric into letting him play darts.

As the joke bounced inside Auggie's head it provided him no relief. Darts used to be a tame way to spend the evening.

When Auggie climbing into the shower, a group of male voices walked into the locker room. As they changed into their workout clothes, they talked about their latest missions. The group of field operatives were in the gym to spar with each other. From what Auggie heard over the water flowing, they were nothing compared to the agent he once was.

So he stood in the shower and took deep breaths, knowing that he couldn't change the life he had been given. He could only make the most of it, even if that meant having to go back to his desk and sit alone with a string of letters and numbers for another week. Excitement would come, eventually.

* * *

**_A/N: This drivel is brought to you by the love/hate relationship I have with my own job at the moment. _**


	13. Mission Part 1 of 2

_**A/N: This two-parter is inspired by various things, but mostly 1917FarmGirl who used to be my muse over a decade ago, and had been reading my CA fics without knowing it was me. There you go folks: Leave feedback, and you may find a long lost friend! **_

* * *

Auggie sensed Joan standing at his door for at least a full minute before she spoke up. Finally, he pulled his headphones down and looked toward the doorway, expectantly. While he was good, he wasn't 100% sure who was there, or that they hadn't walked away.

His attention received a heavy sigh in response.

Auggie lifted one eyebrow.

"I'm certain I'm going to regret this, but get Annie and come to my office."

Auggie locked his computer and got up. Joan didn't sound like she was angry, or even like she had bad news to deliver. He pondered her words as he walked to Annie's desk.

"We've been summoned." He stated.

The steady rhythm of her typing stopped as she got up and asked "A new mission?"

"Nothing I've been in the loop about." Auggie replied.

They walked into the office and closed the door behind them. "Please, have a seat." Joan directed.

Annie placed Auggie's hand on one of the chairs before moving to the other.

"Arthur has requested that the two of you go on a mission together." Joan started.

The two agents before Joan had matching blank looks, masking their emotions perfectly. She smiled in response. "It involves travel to Europe, and perhaps a few different destinations within Europe, to gather information in regards to an emerging arms dealer."

"Other than the fact that it's me, why are you so worried?" Auggie asked, with Joan's earlier comment about regret on his mind.

"No specific reason. I just want you two to be careful. You are posing as a married couple, which shouldn't be too difficult considering your recent behavior. The initial contact is supposed to be in southern Germany in three days. Neither of you are officially fluent in German, but I'm assuming Annie knows enough."

"I can brush up on the plane." Annie supplied.

"There are a lot of uncertainties, more than normal. It doesn't appear to be a dangerous mission, but it does appear to be complicated. I'm emailing you the mission details. You fly out tomorrow."

Annie stood and led Auggie from the room. When they were back at his office she turned to him. "Did that seem odd to you?" She asked.

"Yep. I'm not complaining, of course. But there is definitely more to this."

...

Auggie quickly realized why Joan was leery of the assignment. Annie and Auggie were to meet with several different contacts in several different cities, all providing pieces of intelligence on the same arms dealer. Each informant was willing to give the small piece of intelligence, because alone they were worthless. With the many different pieces, a full picture should be evident, and provide a large win for the agency without any one contact feeling like they actually defied the other party. It was not a conventional way to gather information, but Auggie was never a fan of normalcy, so he liked the idea.

The other side of the mission was that Auggie would get to travel around Europe with Annie. They could be gone for as long as a month, and there would be lots of downtime. While traveling for work was never a vacation, working alongside your best friend and lover while enjoying the delicacies that Europe has to offer wasn't such a bad gig.

For the trans-Atlantic flight, Annie happily let Auggie have the window seat, and she curled into his side. Quietly, she spoke German phrases and they both worked on their vocabulary. Auggie was no linguistics expert, but he wanted to be able to ask for, and understand, directions, as well as a few other key phrases.

The couple arrived at the safe house mid-afternoon and climbed the three flights of stairs to the small apartment the CIA had arranged. Annie opened the door and Auggie followed her from the narrow hallway into the room.

"Hm. This may be a problem." Annie said in a tone that didn't entirely tell Auggie if whatever it was _would_ actually be a problem.

"What is it?" Auggie asked.

"We are on the top floor, and the ceiling is slanted. You are going to hit your head." Annie explained.

Auggie laughed for a breath. "Great! How very European!" He replied sarcastically. He stood still for a moment, thinking of how to navigate with obstacles both in front and above him. "What do we have in the form of rugs?"

"There are a few around here."

"Perfect. We can arrange them so that the floor changes when I'm about to hit my head."

Annie smiled. Auggie explored the room with his cane, keeping one hand above his head as he went. Annie re-arranged some of the furniture so that it was less cluttered, and did a sweep of the apartment to make sure it was secure. There weren't many windows, and from what they had there was only a view of the roof of the building and the courtyard shared with many other apartments.

After getting settled at the safe house, Annie and Auggie left to explore the neighborhood. They were to be contacted at a bakery a block away, so they headed for a restaurant in that direction for dinner. Auggie walked close to Annie as she described the surroundings.

The small German town wasn't used to having American guests, and Annie and Auggie were almost celebrities. The simple meal was some of the best food either of them had eaten, complimented by a bottle of local wine. By the time they left, their cover as a young couple traveling around Europe on vacation was secured by the fact that it wasn't very far from the truth. When they walked back into the safe house, Auggie had his hands on Annie for more than guidance.

Annie and Auggie had three pleasant days in the small town before a small USB drive was slipped in the paper with their morning pastries. It had been almost like a vacation, but with the nugget of information they packed up and drove to the nearest train station to begin their journey to Austria, where they repeated the process once more, albeit with a less dangerous ceiling in the apartment.

After the first piece of intel was received, Auggie was hard at work with the data. He uploaded the information to Barber, and spent most of their downtime at his laptop with his headphones plugged in. The couple still spent time in town, establishing their cover and fitting in a workout wherever they could. It was, by far, the most pleasant mission either of them had ever experienced.

They had just arrived in the fourth city, Pamplona, when Joan called Annie.

"We need you two to lay low until we find out more information, but we believe your mission has been compromised. There has been some word of an American couple, a blonde woman and a blind man, in the first two towns. Our dealer probably won't think it is a coincidence. I don't know how long it is safe for you in Spain."

"Understood," Annie replied. "What are our instructions?"

"None yet, just be alert. Get to the safe-house and wait there while we assess the situation."

Annie hung up the phone and turned to Auggie. "So?" Auggie asked, not having been in on the conversation.

Annie spoke quietly. "We may be compromised. You need to look less blind."

Without a word, Auggie gave half a nod and started folding up his cane. As he placed it into his bag he pulled out a pair of sunglasses and interlocked his arm with Annie's in a way that looked more like two people in love than a sighted guide. "Lead the way, dear." He stated.

They got to the safe-house and did a level one sweep.

"So what's up?" Auggie asked.

"There's been somebody talking to our first two contacts who is starting to think that a blind American traveling around obscure European cities is a little suspect."

"Oh." Auggie responded.

"Yeah. I can put on a wig and finish the last exchange." Annie suggested.

"And I just need to stay close to your arm and try to make eye contact."

"Auggie, it's too dangerous. You stay here, and I'll make the exchange."

"They are expecting a couple."

Annie sighed.

"Look, I know it's a ridiculous idea, but all we have to do is go to that cafe, make the order, and get through a meal. I can fake that."

"Auggie, we don't even know who is looking for us, or how closely they are watching."

"Which is why it probably doesn't matter, even if I walked directly into a pole."

"Or it could be a matter of life and death that you find the water glass on the first try."

"I can do this." Auggie said with a set jaw and a look of determination.

"Auggie," Annie tried to figure out the right words. "You can't... They might... There's..."

"We are so close, Annie. You can help me look like I can see."

"Not under all circumstances." Annie replied. "It's not worth the risk."

"I'm not going to let this mission fail because I'm blind."

Annie softened up and put her hand on his arm. Auggie shook it off and stepped away. "We aren't failing because you are blind. We are waiting for somebody else to step in _because our cover is compromised. _Take a deep breath and think objectively. There's no reason to take the risk, other than to prove that you can. Would you put me in jeopardy just to do that?"

Auggie walked toward a wall, where he kicked out in frustration. He turned toward Annie, but leaned against the surface, hitting it a few times with the side of his fist. She could see the emotions play across his face. He knew she was right. He didn't want her to be right.

He took a deep breath and looked forward. "So are we just supposed to go home now?"

"Joan wanted us to stay here until they could assess the threat."

Every feature of his face showed that he was not happy about the situation, but he closed his eyes and sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Annie stepped up to him and placed her hand on his arm again. "At least we're stuck here together for once."

Auggie gave a half grin, but it wasn't completely sincere. "Yeah," He said, as he wrapped his arm around her.

There was no love in the embrace, but she stood there holding him as long as he wanted. Finally he swallowed and let her go. "We should make ourselves comfortable." He stated.

Annie was having a hard time reading his intent. "Do you mean 'comfortable' as in rearranging furniture to stay a while, or that we should take off our clothes and find the bed?"

"As much as I have enjoyed the latter, I was talking more about the former. I want to set up my computer and see if I can assess anything more from the code that we have received already."

"Too bad," Annie replied in a teasing tone. "I had already taken off my shirt."

"Liar."

"I was thinking of taking off my shirt." She replied. "I was at least considering taking off _your_ shirt."

Auggie found the one small table in the tiny apartment and sat his computer case on top. Then he turned toward Annie and slowly took off his jacket, as if he were putting on a strip-tease. "I hope you are watching, because otherwise I'm just entertaining myself."

Annie giggled. "If it makes you feel pretty, keep it up."

Auggie rolled his eyes, put his jacket on the back of the chair and started to unpack his equipment while Annie looked more closely at their accommodations. They were on the second floor of a building that overlooked a narrow roadway from their balcony. Annie was able to keep the blinds shut, yet crack the windows to let in some of the ambience of the location, and fresh air.

She inspected the food supply, and figured that they had about three days worth of food, but no coffee. They might not survive 24 hours with those rations. She didn't tell Auggie, as he appeared to be completely immersed in his computer.

It didn't take long for Annie to be completely bored with their accommodations. She pulled a chair up next to Auggie, who pulled off his headphones.

"What?" He asked.

"Wondering what you are finding." She replied.

"That bored already?"

"Yep."

"I would unplug the headphones and let you listen to the super-sexy computer voice, but..."

"Yeah, no, I'm fine not hearing the robot speed-read. Are you finding anything interesting?"

"Yes. And if you leave me alone for another half-hour I'll get through this one file, and we can entertain each other."

"So, by 'entertain' do you mean we take our clothes off and find the bed, or try a ridiculous round of twenty questions?"

"Wait patiently, and find out."

"Ugh." Annie said as she started to pace the small apartment again.

Auggie finished as the street noise quieted down for siesta. The stillness outside the small window was creepy for the middle of the day. Auggie found himself checking his watch to be sure that it was as early as he thought.

"Evidently finding the bed in the middle of the afternoon is a Spanish tradition." Auggie said.

"I could live with that." Annie replied.

Auggie walked toward Annie, who met him near the bed. Touching her arm, he scowled. "You have on clothes."

"Remember that time you told me you were about ten minutes from finishing up a code break, then you would meet me at Allen's, and you spent the next fourteen hours at your desk?"

"Vaguely."

"Moral of the story is that I'm not going to sit around naked, waiting for you to finish working."

"I'm not working now. Lets..." Auggie stopped, hearing something outside.

"What is it?" Annie asked.

Auggie looked confused. "Canes?"

The sound was getting closer, so Annie opened the blinds enough to look out at the road.

"It's not canes, it's a group of people that look like they've been backpacking. Some of them have two trekking poles, and a couple just have a hiking stick."

Auggie's face lit up.

"Don't look so excited, Anderson."

"People are walking through the streets with sticks! My cane wouldn't..."

"Auggie." Annie's tone told him to stop.

"Annie - I bet they are hiking to Santiago."

"Chile? That's not a hike, that's a swim."

"In northwestern Spain, dear. About 400 miles from here."

"Sounds fun."

"You would think so. The point is, it's not so crazy to see a guy walking around town with a long stick here."

"Your cane is considerably different than what these people are using."

"Then we should pick up some poles. Just in case."

"Auggie." This seemed to be Annie's main argument.

"Annie. We've been here for three hours, and you already have cabin fever."

"Okay. You go back to your dorky computer investigation, and I'll go buy us some gear to look like hikers."

"Nope." Auggie replied with a smile.

"But this was your plan." Annie replied, confused.

"And right now, it's siesta, so all the stores are closed."

"Oh."

Auggie caressed her arm. "So what should we do for the next two hours?"

"We have about 500 square feet here to explore, and I did a lot of that while you were hacking away earlier."

"How's the coffee supply?" Auggie asked.

Annie winced. "Um. About that..."

"You are obviously picking up more than hiking gear while you are out."

"Want to play twenty questions?" Annie asked.

"Not really."

"This place doesn't even have a TV."

"I guess the CIA wanted us to entertain ourselves." Auggie suggested.

"And by 'entertain' you mean..." Annie was interrupted by Auggie climbing on top of her.

After getting a little bit of rest, Annie and Auggie could hear the city waking up outside their window. "Okay, I'm going to go see what I can find."

While Annie was gone, Auggie investigated their safe-house on his own. She wasn't exaggerating, it was really small and poorly stocked. He decided to get online and investigate the hiking trail out of town, instead.

Annie returned a couple of hours later with arms full of supplies.

"_Buen Camino peregrina_!" Auggie greeted.

"I heard that from at least five other people while I was out, so I'm assuming you have done some research."

"Did you see any yellow arrows painted on the sidewalk while you were out?"

"I assumed they were marking a gas line." Annie replied.

"Nope. They were trail markers."

"So people just follow yellow arrows out of town, and end up in another village? This would be why the guy at the hiking store inspected my footwear, isn't it?"

"Come on, you know it sounds like fun."

"Maybe when we aren't on a mission. For now, we are stuck with this ridiculously small apartment and each other."

"Paradise." Auggie said.

_**TBC**_


	14. Mission Part 2

After 48 hours, the living situation was a far cry from paradise. Annie taught Auggie all the swear words she knew in foreign languages. Auggie helped Annie remember Morse Code. They did laundry together in the kitchen sink. They rearranged the furniture and practiced hand-to-hand fighting. Auggie even laughed at Annie as she tried to cook dinner blindfolded. They were quickly running out of ideas.

"That's it, Annie. If Joan hasn't heard anything definitive, we should either go home, or complete the mission."

"Are you going to call her to say that?" Annie asked.

"Who said she needs to know?" Auggie asked.

"Protocol."

"Screw protocol. You said there was a big public square nearby? Let's go get some dinner, find somewhere inconspicuous to sit, and people watch. Well, you watch, I'll listen, while pretending to watch."

"Ok. But we are just going to a random cafe tonight. Not trying to complete the mission."

Auggie put his cane in his messenger bag, unwilling to completely leave it behind. He locked arms with Annie and followed her out onto the street. He settled his eyes on the ground ahead of them, hoping it was dark enough to look inconspicuous.

"Ah. The sweet smell of freedom." He spoke quietly, almost directly into Annie's ear. Annie responded with an elbow into his side.

"So, tell me about Pamplona. Are the streets full of blood stains from the slow runners that got gored?"

"Nope. The gift shops are full of red bandannas, though. You want one?"

"Trying not to attract attention, remember?"

"Okay so, to your left and right are nondescript European buildings. Three stories tall, half of the blinds are closed, nothing special."

"But we are getting close to the square. I can hear it."

Auggie was correct. Annie found them a restaurant with seating on the square where she had a great view, but they were in the shadows enough to not be seen. Annie described some of the scenes to Auggie. There were groups of hikers (but not many, as it was getting late), young families, the few random tourists, and a couple of dogs. Neither of them cared what the food tasted like, as they were just happy to be out of the safe-house for a little while.

They were each enjoying some flan for desert when Annie reached for Auggie's hand. "There is a man walking by that I recognize from Austria."

Auggie calmly spooned some more of the caramel creation. "Do you think he sees us?" he asked before placing the bite in his mouth.

"Not yet."

"Then we shouldn't draw any attention to ourselves."

"Or we should follow him."

"That would be risky, Walker." But even as the words left his mouth, he could hear her getting up to pay the bill. "You did that so we could rush back to the safe-house, right?" He asked when she returned to the table.

"To sit for another week? Come on, Auggie. If I can even get a picture of this guy to send back to Joan, it might help get this over with."

"I shouldn't go." Auggie stated.

"What?" Annie replied.

"Let's face it, you will have better luck discreetly following him if you don't have to worry about me falling off a curb. I'll stay here in the square and pretend to play on my phone. If you aren't back in an hour, I'll..."

"You'll what? Pull out your cane and find your way to the safe-house, even though the fact that I didn't come back more than likely means that somebody found me and is looking for you?"

"Fine. There was a bar around the corner. I'll wait there, and if you aren't back in two hours, I'll assume our cover is blown and go home with a Spanish woman."

"Auggie." Annie was learning to say so much with just his name. This time, she was hurried, frustrated, and needed him to be serious.

"Bar. If you aren't back in an hour, I remember enough to get back to the safe-house like a sloppy drunk."

They were already walking in that direction, and Annie discreetly led Auggie to a barstool in a back corner. "Be safe." He said as she walked away.

Spanish was no problem for Auggie, and he quickly had a drink in hand. It was a medium sized crowd that he was able to ignore by focusing his attention on his drink.

After fifteen minutes, there was a light presence to his left. "What is an American like you doing here all alone?" A soft female voice asked in heavily accented English.

Auggie tried to ignore her, but there was a hand on his shoulder. He kept his eyes in the direction of his drink. "What makes you think I'm American?" He replied in smooth Spanish, though not the local dialect.

The voice didn't reply, but the hand didn't leave his shoulder. She was staring at him, and he didn't need the attention at the moment. "I just want to have a drink alone, please." He said, darting his eyes in her direction for a moment too brief for her to notice the lack of contact.

The hand left his body and he heard her walk away.

The second person to approach him was more of a surprise. "Did your girlfriend abandon you?" The female voice stated, in English, close to his ear. Her accent was different from the first, with an Eastern European sound.

Auggie gave a look of confusion and turned slightly to the voice. "Who?" He asked in Spanish.

"You have traveled all over Europe with her, I assume you two are close."

Auggie's face twitched as he silently assessed the situation.

"I would describe her to you, but I'm not sure that would be of any benefit." The woman was directly behind Auggie, her right hand on his right shoulder while she spoke into his left ear.

Auggie stiffened beneath her touch.

"We have her, and if you want to touch her again, you will come with me." The voice stated clearly but quietly.

Auggie sighed. He wanted to call her bluff, but there were too many signs that the statement could be true. He turned toward the voice and moved around his barstool. The woman pushed him toward the door, with him running into more than one other patron on the way. "Pardon my friend, he gets uncoordinated after a few drinks." She said to the room as they walked out the door.

The woman pushed Auggie to the right and into a small alleyway. He was considering his luck with the closer quarters, knowing that his chances of winning a fight had just increased, when she spoke again. "I have a gun."

To prove the point, a hard object pushed into his back. So much for his chances at a fight.

"And I'll be taking this." She said as she pulled his messenger bag over his head. She reached into his pockets and also took his iPhone and passport. He heard them hit the ground, be kicked, and land further away. "Oops. I knocked it into the sewer."

They came out of the other side of the alley onto a quieter street. Auggie tripped up onto the curb as they reached the sidewalk. It took all of his focus to keep track of his surroundings and stay upright as the woman pushed him forward with a hand in his back. "You should watch your step." She sneered.

They didn't walk far before she stopped and directed him to get on the back of a moped. He held on tight as she sped through the city. They didn't go far, though there were a lot of turns. Auggie felt that he had the route mapped out well in his head, if he had the opportunity to try to return. They stopped, and he was practically pushed off the back of the bike. He was unceremoniously pushed through a grassy area until the woman swiftly grabbed his hands, cuffed them behind his back, and backed him into a rock wall. "Sit."

"I'm fine, thank you." Auggie replied.

A foot landed in his gut, and Auggie let out a yell far louder than necessary from the pain. He listened to how it echoed, and determined that they were likely at the city wall. They weren't too far from highly populated areas, but it was rather secluded.

"Sit." The voice repeated in the same tone.

Auggie slowly lowered his body to the ground.

There was silence. Auggie strained to hear any details, but the woman was obviously alone, and likely trying to figure out what to do next. This gave him hope.

"So is this your secret hide-out?" Auggie asked.

The woman didn't answer. It seemed that both of them were trying to assess the other's competence.

"I hope nobody heard that yell. Are we still in the city?" Auggie pretended he was far more disoriented than he really was.

"Be quiet. I told you that I have a gun." The voice was less certain.

Auggie began to doubt the existence of the actual gun. "Prove it."

"I'm going to prove it soon by shooting you."

Auggie adjusted his hands behind him, feeling the pull of the cuffs against the hard rock. "Are you?"

He heard an exasperated sigh, and the footsteps of the woman coming closer. Cold metal pressed against Auggie's face. "I know you can't see it, but what you are feeling across your cheek is the barrel of a real, loaded, gun. Now be quiet or..."

Her words were cut off by Auggie catching her body between his legs and flipping her into the rock wall, knocking her unconscious. Auggie listened for a second, then tried to bring his hands in front of him while still cuffed. Not having any luck, he moved toward her unconscious body and used his hands behind his back to find her pockets. Luckily enough, he found the key in the first pocket, and was quickly out of the cuffs.

He checked her pulse, which was weak but steady. He went to the moped, started the engine and pointed it down the hill. Hoping he didn't hurt anybody, he revved the engine, gave it a push, and listened to it crash into the solid rock wall. At least if the woman woke up, she would have to chase him on foot.

Auggie started back in the direction from which they came with his hand on the wall, which was great guidance until he reached the gate to the city and needed to move into the open. Without his cane, Auggie wasn't going to get far, fast.

He moved forward and listened for any clue that might guide him toward the safe-house, or Annie. While the Spaniards kept late hours, there weren't many people out at the time. From the short drive out of town, Auggie thought he must just be on the other side of the square where he and Annie ate dinner. If he could just cross that space, he would at least get away from the unconscious woman and be a little closer to finding his way to Annie.

But without his cane, in a strange city, and not even certain of his actual location, he was afraid to step out across the unknown. Auggie was rarely scared, but there were times when his limitations were unavoidably oppressive.

He moved back to the wall, wanting something to hold him in place, and listened. The wind moved softly, and he hoped to hear leaves rustling in the breeze. A tree would give him something to make a cane with, but he didn't hear any signs of a tree nearby.

Thinking of his options, Auggie moved forward, slowly. He was sure he looked silly as he dragged each foot forward and held his arms in front. He tipped his head forward to keep from running into anything face-first.

Not five minutes after starting across the unknown this way (and moving forward maybe thirty feet) Auggie heard footsteps coming toward him. "Señor! Albergue?"

Auggie lifted his head in the direction of the voice and spoke. "I've lost my way. Could you please guide me to Calle San Miguel?" Auggie asked in Spanish.

"The Albergue isn't that way. I will take you to the Albergue." The young man seemed certain that Auggie was one of the hikers, arriving after a long day on foot.

"I'm not staying at the Albergue. I need to get to Calle San Miguel." Auggie explained.

"Come with me." The man's footsteps started moving away.

"Wait!" Auggie shouted, surprised at the panic he felt. "I can't see. I need to hold you."

The footsteps came back. "Oh. Sorry I didn't realize."

He grabbed Auggie's arm, and Auggie quickly repositioned so that he was holding the stranger. As they walked forward, Auggie suddenly felt far more grounded and capable.

The pair walked in the awkward silence brought about by language barriers and disability. Auggie was contemplating the loss of his messenger bag when they turned a corner and he heard Annie's voice shout his name. He quickly patted his companion and thanked him, and turned her.

"Auggie, oh Auggie, where were you?" She put her hands on both sides of his face and pulled him close.

Instead of replying, Auggie just breathed in her scent and wrapped his arms around her body. "Did you get any information?" He asked.

"Nothing. Where is your cane?" She asked.

"With my bag in a sewer drain." He replied, as if this was the most logical explanation. "I was abducted."

Annie stepped back, her hands still on his face. "Are you ok?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'll live." He replied. "But we are definitely compromised. Should probably get out of town."

Annie looped her elbow in his and walked toward the safe-house. "Fine with me. This city is far too small for my tastes."

"Did you even see any bulls?" Auggie asked with half a grin.

"Nope." Annie replied. "Total letdown."

They walked peacefully through the empty street with locked arms and smiles on their faces, for the moment forgetting that the operation was blown and only thinking about how happy they were to be together.

Back at the safe-house they packed their stuff into the backpacks Annie bought. Just before dawn Auggie took Annie in one arm, and a trekking pole in the other, and they walked out of town. An hour or two after leaving, Annie and Auggie sat on beneath a giant modern windmill on the top of a ridge. The blades kept a constant beat in the background as the sun came up in the distance. Exhausted from the events of the previous night and relaxed by the fresh air, they curled up into each others' arms and fell asleep for an early morning nap before descending the hill to the west.

**A/N: If you have seen _The Way_ with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, this last paragraph takes place where Joost sees the bicycles. If you haven't seen _The Way_, then you should just go get a backpack and hike El Camino de Santiago de Compestela yourself. (Though seriously, if you want more information, the Camino a passion of mine, so PM. I'm sure I'll have Annie and Auggie on the Camino in some form or fashion again at some point) **


	15. Backstory

"Here is what I don't understand," Annie said. She and Auggie had finished a bottle of wine and she was curled into his arms on the couch. "I've met some of your brothers, I've heard about your parents, and I know you. What doesn't make sense is how you ended up in the Army. Were you recruited first, and sent for military efforts?"

Auggie ran his hand over her arm and calmly replied "I graduated college in the Spring of 2001. The CIA wasn't recruiting then."

"Were you in ROTC?"

"Nope. I had a full ride through a merit scholarship."

"Did you always want to be a soldier?"

Auggie laughed. "Hardly."

"So?"

Auggie tilted his head toward Annie, enjoying the simple heat of her body and presence next to him. "I did it to piss off my dad."

Annie laughed. "That sounds like you."

"I went home for Thanksgiving during my last year of college, and he had three interviews lined up for me with his friends from the country club. I sat in those offices, looked around, and felt my life slipping away. The offers were good - and they weren't the only ones I had. The dot-com industry was booming, and I had excelled at a startup over the summer the year before. I felt like all those people had a person they wanted me to be, and none of it was what I actually wanted. I looked at my brothers, all four of them were pushed to be what dad wanted them to be. So when I got back on campus, I signed a contract to join the Army just after graduation.

"It was just a three-year commitment, I liked the idea of the adventure it would offer, and it seemed safe. I didn't even know who the next president would be, they were still counting the ballots of the two-thousand election. I was so ignorant of foreign affairs that the idea of going to war seemed unthinkable."

"Oh." Annie replied. The time he described sounded so far away.

"Anyways, I joined the Army to piss off dad. I ended up being a damn good officer, and was just recruited for Special Forces training in early September of 2001."

"Holy shit." Annie replied.

"Yeah. Things changed a bit. Fairly certain a few guys wet their pants when they realized what they were signed up for."

"And you?"

"I knew that I should be scared, but I kept thinking about those offices in Chicago, so sterile and stifling. I knew that we were all going to die. We all thought that we were going to be shipped to the middle east the next week, and promptly die. But instead of being scared, I was energized. Before, the training exercises were all just games. Suddenly they became something meaningful."

"So when were you recruited?"

"The CIA came to me in October of 2001, just when they were figuring out how to increase their numbers and put all these new operatives through training. I stayed with the Army and was sent through every training course at Ft. Bragg, and a couple at locations people don't even know the Army utilizes. Then I spent the rest of my 'Army' Career on the Farm."

"They were creating a super soldier." Annie stated.

Auggie was quiet a moment, still running his fingers along her skin. "And yet, I still ended up at the desk job."

Annie was quiet a moment. "Do you ever regret it?"

"Not for a moment." Auggie replied without hesitation. "I could have gone straight from college to a comfortable office, but I would have never experienced really living. I would have probably felt relieved that I missed going to war, but before I enlisted I never imagined that I could end up everywhere that I've ended up. I've done everything I'm physically capable of doing, and even now I'm doing something I'm passionate about. It's far more rewarding than building the next great online shopping platform."

"And your dad?"

Auggie swallowed. "He assumes I regret every bit of it. To keep my cover, I don't worry about trying to prove him wrong."


	16. Rough

_**Its less than fluff, but I'm still sharing. **_

* * *

Annie and Auggie had a morning routine that worked well. Annie knew something was off when she got out of the shower and not only was there no coffee brewing, Auggie was still laying on top of the bed. He may have gotten up, but he hadn't gone far.

"Are you okay?" Annie asked while she looked through her closet.

"Yeah. Fine." Auggie answered without moving.

"I'm not buying it." Annie responded.

"Okay." Auggie responded as he pulled his hand away from his head and stood up. His tone told her that he didn't care if she believed him.

Annie watched him walk into the bathroom without saying anything else. She heard the shower running and went to the kitchen to start some coffee.

Auggie was in the shower far longer than normal, and Annie was even more certain something was wrong. When he finally emerged he looked fine, but she was still concerned.

"Are you sure you want to go in today?"

Auggie looked confused. "I'm in the middle of deciphering the information from the Brindisi files, and have to get things ready for your trip to Poland. I don't really have a choice about going in."

"You know you can take a sick day, if you need to."

Auggie sighed and reached for a long sleeved tee shirt and blue jeans. "I'm fine. Really. Just woke up with a headache and needed some time for the meds to kick in."

Annie looked at him closely, trying to determine if he was telling her everything. "Are you feeling better now?" She asked with concern.

"Yep." Auggie said, shortly.

"Good. I made coffee."

"Thanks," He replied. He gave her a kiss on the forehead before walking to the kitchen.

Annie kept an eye on Auggie for the rest of the day. He was busy, and looked stressed. But nothing made her think that he was any less than truthful about that morning. When things finally died down at the office, she drove him to Allen's.

"This is what I needed." Auggie said after a large swallow of beer.

"I assume your head is still feeling okay?"

Auggie smiled. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I was just concerned."

"No need to be." He replied. "Some mornings are just harder than others."

"I've been sleeping at your place for almost the entire past month and haven't seen you like that in the morning. This was something more."

Auggie grinned. "What can I say? Mornings are easier with you around."

Annie looked at him a moment. "Are you sure?"

Auggie pinched his eyebrows in confusion.

"You aren't just trying to hide it?"

Auggie looked toward her. "No." He replied. "It is genuinely better when I wake up in the morning with you laying next to me."

Annie bit her lip and considered her next question. Auggie reached for her.

"Was that too much?" Auggie asked, worried that his statement had caused Annie to be silent out of discomfort.

"Not at all." Annie replied, snapping out of her thoughts. "I was just wondering... I don't want to push, but how often did you have mornings like that when you weren't waking up next to me?"

Auggie shrugged. "Once a week or so. I don't exactly keep track."

Annie took a moment to stare at her boyfriend, a privilege she appreciated and frequently abused. Auggie knew she was doing it.

"Don't let it go to your head." He said with a grin. "It's mostly related to my sleep cycles, so anytime I'm sharing a bed with somebody who's brain distinguishes night from day, I'm more likely to wake up refreshed."

"Oh, well, that explains a lot." Annie said with a teasing note.

"Don't know what I'll do while you are in Poland."

"Suffer."Annie responded quickly. "You either suffer from the solitude while I'm gone, or suffer me hurting you when I get back. And I promise I would find a way to make your life more unpleasant than a few hard mornings."

Auggie squeezed her hand. "I wouldn't dream of sharing my nights with anybody else." His tone was sincere. He was almost shy as he added "You know that right?"

Annie leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Totally," She replied. "Though perhaps we should work on getting to sleep a little earlier tonight?"

Auggie smiled. "I'm all for going to bed early. We don't necessarily have to go to sleep..."


	17. Boston

_**A/N - I was in a very surreal place far from Boston on the day of the Marathon. I didn't follow the news that closely but I did remember an early report that "Intelligence Officials say there was no chatter about an attack."**_

_**So I had to wonder what that day would have been like at the DPD.**_

**_I've_**_** been sitting on this and constantly tweaking, because it touches an event that closely affected some of you and because I didn't feel I have completely represented the emotions I wanted to represent. But I did want to share before the event was too old.**_

_**Pardon any typos and lack of depth. Typing is hard for me these days (graphic proof why is on my Tumblr page).**_

...

When the news broke, there were exactly three seconds of silence in the DPD. After that, everybody was moving in every direction. The fact that they had missed something like this wasn't going to be taken lightly. An attack on American soil was an attack on the DPD, personally.

Joan's voice came above the crowd. "I want everything that we have heard about, around, and within Boston on my desk in five minutes. Meet in the conference room in ten."

"This is it?" Joan asked when Auggie brought the thin pile of papers to her desk.

"Evidently there wasn't a lot of chatter about Boston." Auggie replied. "But I have the team looking into all information regarding attacks on an undisclosed location."

"Good." Joan replied. "Also, have everybody looking for other similar types of chatter: same type of attack, same type of event, anything."

"Already on it." Auggie replied as he exited the room.

Over 300 members of the CIA watch list were known to be in the area of the bombing, and Annie was sorting through the files of those that were Russian. She skimmed the Russian information and determined one-by-one that specific suspects weren't likely matches for this event.

Annie was amazed at how everybody was able to focus among the chaos. As details were discovered, they were announced in the DPD. Five different news stations were playing on the large screens, showing the footage over and over. Annie knew that somewhere in the building, somebody was taking this footage and analyzing every little detail for clues. Meanwhile, she moved through the files selected for closer look.

Four hours went by in what felt like seconds. Annie had a file of a young Chechnyan man on her desk, and she was reviewing the information. The file seemed different from the rest. As if lifting from a fog, she looked up at her colleagues, not sure what to do. So she went to Auggie.

"Whatcha got?" Auggie greeted her.

"I don't know." Annie responded.

Auggie softened when hearing Annie's voice. He was in warrior mode, and had assumed the visitor was one of the data techs he had been pushing all morning. He wasn't entirely aware that it was afternoon.

"I found somebody interesting. Can you see if we have any more information on him?"

"Absolutely. Give me the name."

Annie gave Auggie the name and updated him on what she found, along with her gut instincts.

"Your gut is pretty reliable." Auggie said. "You may have found something here." A smile spread across his face before he startled Annie by shouting for three of the information specialists in the DPD.

"I need you guys to look into this character. I want all audio, video, and digital surveillance we can find. Send his picture to those in surveillance that are analyzing the scene, in case he is in any of the footage. Report back in twenty minutes." Auggie felt his watch as he directed them and turned to Annie.

"Is it really after one already?" He asked.

"Yeah. There's pizza in the breakroom. Want a slice?"

"Yeah." He got up and they quickly walked to the free food. He took one slice and ate it standing at the counter.

"You doing okay?" He asked Annie between bites. It was probably going to take him less than a minute to finish the slice, the way he was eating.

"Yeah. This is pretty exciting."

Auggie swallowed a bite and gave half a grin. "There are lots of words that people could use to describe a terrorist attack. 'Exciting' may be one of them, but not with the glee I hear in your voice."

"It's nice to be behind the scenes, knowing that while this sneaked through, we really are doing everything we can to make it right." Annie explained.

"I know what you mean." Auggie replied. "And we need to get back to it." He said, throwing away his napkin. He leaned toward Annie and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before walking toward his office.

The suspect Annie flagged was forwarded up the chain of command and late that night was still on the short list of suspects shared with the FBI. Annie and Auggie were ordered to go early the next morning. The investigation had been thorough, and the authorities had more than enough to go with at the moment. Auggie had already moved on to other related research when Joan forced him to stop.

"That information isn't urgent, and won't be valuable if you don't have a clear head." Joan admonished him. "Get some sleep, and I'll have more information when you return."

...

"You did good." Auggie told Annie as he held her in his arms in bed.

"I just had the right name in my stack. One of several suspects."

"Mmmm." Auggie hummed, his nose in her hair and breath against her neck. "I'm glad he was in your stack. I trust your eyes more than any others."

"How do you still have energy to make a pun?"

"I don't think that was a pun."

"How do you have the energy to make a bad joke?"

"It wasn't even a joke. It was just a blindism."

"How do you have the energy to make up new words?" Annie practically mumbled.

"You said it yourself. What happened was exciting."

Annie ran her finger over his hand. "It seems wrong, getting a rush from something like this."

"The rush was from the chase, not the bomb. You did good."

"If you say so," Annie replied. Not totally convinced.

Auggie pulled Annie so that she was facing him. "Today, somebody attacked us. We are preparing our counter attack. There is no shame in being enthusiastic in that situation."

"That makes sense. But why are you still awake now?"

Auggie gave a grin that made Annie feel dirty, and raised his eyebrows. "It's common for men, when battle is over, to be overcome with arousal."

Annie couldn't help but laugh and lean forward to give him a kiss. "But we don't know if we won yet."

"Even more reason to live in the moment." Auggie replied as he pulled Annie on top of him.


	18. Fight Training

Annie's sweat smelled different. Auggie was trying to concentrate on their sparring session, but there was something distinctly different about Annie today, and he was having a hard time concentrating. He had accidentally hit her in the head once already, though she should have known to duck.

Annie, herself, was having a hard time concentrating on her bob and weave technique when Auggie's shirt was clinging so nicely to his body. She tried to come up with an excuse to press against him, and missed his arm coming toward her head.

"This isn't working, is it?" Auggie asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time focusing." Annie replied.

"Me too. Did you change shampoo or something?"

"I showered at your house this morning, remember?"

"Oh," Auggie replied. "So, less hand-to hand today, maybe we should work with the heavy bag?"

"That sounds like a good idea."

In the end, the two operatives completed a workout, but nothing like the training sessions they were used to. That evening at Allen's, Auggie suggested a new idea.

"You know the Agency has trainers that you can use. They probably would be a good idea to consult even if you weren't constantly trying to jump me in the gym."

"I haven't tried to jump you! I've just been distracted."

"Distracted by wanting to jump me. But that's ok. Maybe you should check them out, at least to supplement the training you're getting from the blind guy."

Annie sipped her beer and thought about working with anybody other than Auggie. "That doesn't sound like fun at all."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Auggie stated with a grin. "And really, when fight training seems 'fun,' we are probably on the wrong track."

"What about you? Would you come work with them, too?"

"No."

"Why not? You need practice, too."

"I'm fine with the heavy bag." Auggie replied.

"When is the last time you had a fight lesson?" Annie asked.

"You, my dear, are the field operative. You need your fight lessons. I'm the guy back at the desk."

"The guy back at the desk that's gotten in a few fights the past few years. Some of them were even on an official mission."

"And I handled myself just fine."

"Are you saying I haven't?"

"I'm saying you need the training more than I do."

"It's not limited." Annie replied.

Auggie sighed. "Okay. We both try the Agency fight trainer. I haven't met the new guy, but the past three haven't wanted to go anywhere near the blind computer geek."

Annie smiled. "If he gives you any trouble, we'll attack him in the locker room. I'll get him into close quarters, and you finish him off."

"That probably won't help, but I like the way you think."

...

Auggie walked into the gym with an open mind. He had no problem scheduling a session with the new trainer.

"You must be August." A male voice announced.

"That would be me," Auggie replied, reaching his hand out to shake. "You can call me Auggie."

"Nice to meet you Auggie. I'm Leroy. I've been excited about this since you signed up."

"Really?" Auggie replied.

"Yeah man. I love a good challenge, and the little that I know about you tells me that you will be fun to teach."

Auggie looked confused. "Are you sure you read the right file?"

"You may not be in the field, but I can tell just by looking at you that you don't spend all day behind that computer. Tell me what you usually do in the gym, and what you want to be doing."

Auggie explained his normal workouts, both alone, with his brother, and with Annie. "And I guess I'm just here to... Honestly man, I don't know why I'm here. I push to go in the field, and it seems like keeping my fight skills up is a good idea."

"I'm absolutely with you on that, man. You don't need a reason. The Agency keeps me here for everybody, and I am happy to work with anybody that wants to learn. Let's see what you got."

After about twenty minutes of going through an assessment of Auggie's skills and capabilities, Leroy led Auggie to the mat and stood across from him.

"Here's what I'm thinking. You're good, man. Really good. But you've been limited in your range and intensity. I think where we need to begin is getting you moving more. Moving for real."

Auggie grinned. "Sounds good to me, where do we begin?."

"Get on all fours on the mat."

...

Two days later, Annie stopped by Auggie's desk when it was time to leave. "Are you ready to go?" She asked.

"Yep. Just powering down." He lifted one of the headphones to hear that the system was powered off, and swapped to his normal cane. Then he very slowly got up.

"That looks painful." Annie commented.

"I haven't been this sore since my Army days." Auggie replied with a genuine smile. "It's wonderful."

Annie smiled back, loving that Auggie had gotten along with the new fight instructor so well. "I happen to find the pain to be painful."

"See, I had been going too easy on you. He told me so."

"What?" Annie replied.

"We have plans for you, grasshopper."

"He was supposed to be helping you!" Annie replied.

"And he did. He's good. He gave me some exercises we can work on together."

"I feel like I should get to talk to him about you, if you get to talk to him about me."

"You aren't my handler." Auggie said matter-of-factly.

"I handle you enough." Annie replied as she ran her free hand over the hand he had on her elbow.

Auggie grinned. "An ice pack and some Ibuprofen, and I should be able to show you some of our practice exercises tonight." His tone told her that he wasn't talking about returning to the gym.

"Does it involve hand-to-hand tactics?"

"My hands are involved." Auggie replied, with a wink.


	19. Dress Blues

_**My lack of writing the past month has been mostly because of a broken wrist. Good news is I'm the star of hand therapy. Bad news is that in the gloom of being less-than-capable I made some commitments and set some athletic goals that majorly cut into my writing time. Still, here is a little bit of fluff inspired by a conversation with WillyNilly23. **_

* * *

Annie finally had to move some clothes into Auggie's closet. She was tired of living out of a suitcase for her everyday life, and she was staying at his apartment so much that she might as well be paying rent. She felt particularly bad about not paying utilities, since she was sure that turning on the lights raised the electric bill a bit. Not to mention the fact that sharing a shower never actually succeeds at saving water.

Auggie was in the closet with her, figuring out what clothes of his could be put away to make more space. Her eyes lit up when his hand landed on the next hanger.

"I definitely won't be needing this any time soon."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Captain."

Auggie smirked and turned toward Annie.

"Have you worn it in the past three years?" Annie said as she looked over the crisp blue dress uniform.

"I had to pull it out of storage for that trip to Iraq. Didn't end up needing it."

"That is a real shame." Annie said, imagining him in the outfit now hanging in his hands. "You could wear it to the black tie gala next weekend."

"No." Auggie said definitively. "The last thing I want us to stand out more than necessary while you are working your new cover. A blind man in dress uniform among penguin suits would be too much."

Annie stepped forward and pressed against his body, pushing the hanger into his chest. "Then give me a private show, Captain." She said, seductively.

"Isn't that what we do every night?" He asked with the same seductive tone.

"Yeah. But this time I'm interested in the clothes being on."

"That sounds like no fun at all." He pouted.

Annie took the suit from his hands and pulled up the t-shirt he was wearing, revealing his chest. "Oh, I'm sure we can make it fun."

Auggie swallowed as Annie started to unbutton his jeans. "Fine. You determine which of these work shirts needs to be thrown out for me, and I'll put on the fashion show."

"Deal." Annie responded.

Auggie ran his fingers over the crisp fabric and quickly slid it on. He tucked in the shirt and adjusted the collar. In bare feet, he stepped back into the closet doorway. "Reporting for duty, ma'am."

For a moment, Annie was frozen in silence. "You there?" Auggie asked. She could have stepped into the kitchen, but he doubted he would have missed that.

"Yeah." She choked out.

"It's just a suit." Auggie said.

"There's just something about this suit, though."

"This isn't who I am anymore." He stated with the same casualness that he used for the weather.

Annie took in the sight before her and wondered what the real Captain Anderson was like. It was hard to reconcile the man she knew, with his floppy hair, constant jokes, and creative thinking, with the military personalities she grew up around. She ran her fingers over the bars on Auggie's chest while she considered why the dress blues that she always found attractive made her boyfriend seem like somebody else. The August Anderson she was in love with would look better in the tuxedo she saw wrapped in plastic and pushed to the back.

She stood on her toes and kissed him, slow and sultry. He reciprocated, but didn't pull her closer. "Should we box this up?" She asked.

"Yeah." Auggie responded. "Don't think I'll need it any time soon."

Annie pulled the jacket off his shoulders and carefully folded it. "I think I actually prefer the vests." She confessed.

"So do I." Auggie responded. "Something about dress blues did always make the girls go crazy, though."

"Definitely boxing this up." Annie said with enthusiasm as she pulled off his tie.


	20. Horse and Carriage

_**Have I said "Thank you for all the reviews" recently? No? I've been kind of slack about that (I've been slack about everything!) but seriously: Thank you for all of the reviews. They inspire and encourage more writing. **_

* * *

"Are you ready for the craziness that is my sister's house?"

"I can handle anything, my dear."

"Yeah? We'll see about that when it's time to play Pictionary."

Danielle was leaving town for the weekend, and Annie had volunteered to take care of the girls. Auggie had offered to help, and was following her to the kitchen entrance of the house Danielle was trying to sell. He pulled his cane close when he heard the chorus of "Annie!" coming his way. Danielle gave them a mile long list of instructions, including bedtimes, feeding, television restrictions, and tooth brushing rituals. Eventually, Annie and Auggie found themselves settled in the middle of the living room floor playing with the girls.

"Let me know if you need to escape." Annie whispered in his ear.

"You keep tickling my ear like that, we'll have to put the girls to bed before dinner." Auggie whispered back, making her skin tingle.

"It's not nice to whisper!" Chloe informed the two adults.

"Oh. Busted!" Annie exclaimed, giving Auggie a playful punch in the arm.

"You aren't supposed to hit people, either." Katia added.

"That's right." Auggie said to Annie, with a grin. "How should your aunt be punished?" Auggie asked.

"Um..." The girls were seriously giving the question some thought.

"I should be punished by eating chocolate." Annie suggested.

"No! That's not punishment!" Katia said.

"Then maybe we should make her give me a kiss!" Auggie suggested.

"I thought you liked kissing?" Chloe responded, confused.

"We do." Annie replied. She gave Auggie a quick peck on the cheek.

"Why would that be punishment?" Chloe asked.

"I think it's time to wash up for dinner." Annie changed the subject. "Let's put the toys away."

Auggie heard various plastic pieces being collected and got up with Annie. "Want me to set the table?" He asked.

"Don't you remember the protocol? We have a pile of paper plates ready to go. Why don't you get us some beer?"

"Auggie, how do you know what's on your pizza?" Chloe asked as they sat around the dinner table. She and Katia had been asking him questions like this ever since he told them it was okay to ask anything earlier in the evening.

"Well, I can smell it." He replied, giving an exaggerated sniff. "Or, I can just assume that since your aunt's favorite pizza is Hawaiian, that's what she got."

"How do you know her favorite pizza? Do you two eat pizza a lot?" Not all of the girl's questions were related to his blindness.

"More than we should." Auggie replied.

"Mom only lets us have pizza on special occasions. She likes to cook. Do you cook, Auggie?"

"Not much," He replied. "And neither does your aunt."

The girls giggled. "We know that. That's why she lives with us!"

"I have other talents." Annie stated. "Like..." Annie tried to think of a special skill that was appropriate for telling the girls.

"Did you girls know your aunt can speak more than six different languages?" Auggie filled in.

"Mommy can speak three." Katia replied.

"Really?" Auggie asked, genuinely surprised.

"She lived in the same places as a kid that I did." Annie explained. "You know, Auggie has lived in some pretty cool places, too." Annie said to the girls.

"Have you lived in Sweden?" Chloe asked.

"No. Where is Sweden?" Auggie asked.

"Um..." Chloe was stumped.

"It's across the ocean. But you can't see it from Virginia." Katia explained.

"Hm." Auggie thought. "Have you girls ever been to Chicago?"

"No." They responded in unison.

"Hm." He said. "It's closer than Sweden."

"What country is it in?" Katia asked.

Auggie faked shock. "USA!"

The girls giggled.

"Are you and Annie going to get married?" Chloe asked, out of the blue.

Auggie did a good job not looking shocked when the question came up. He didn't answer for a moment, in case Annie wanted to jump in and save him. She didn't. "Why do you ask?"

"Because mommy says you two are in love, and when people are in love, they get married and make babies."

"They do." Auggie replied slowly. "But these things take time. Marriage is a big deal."

"But you love her, right?" Katia asked.

Auggie was starting to look nervous. Declaring your love with an audience was difficult even if you could look the other person in the eye. "Very much." Auggie said, quiet but casually. "Help me out here, Walker."

Annie giggled. "How about dessert?" She changed the subject quickly.

Danielle had left some cut fruit to make up for the pizza dinner. Annie jumped up to get it for the girls, leaving Auggie to be interrogated.

"If you love her you should marry her." Katia said, quietly.

Auggie leaned close to the little girl and whispered "It's more complicated than that."

"She doesn't care that your eyes don't work." The little girl whispered back. "And she's very pretty. Do you know how pretty she is?"

"I do." Auggie said with confidence.

"Weren't you the one lecturing us about whispering earlier?" Annie interrupted.

"I was just asking Auggie a question about being blind." Katia explained.

"Okay. Here's your dessert. Eat up, and then we'll play a game."

Auggie could hear her sitting bowls in front of the girls.

"Your evasive techniques are rusty Anderson." Annie whispered in his ear as she sat a bowl in front of him.

Auggie just smiled and put a strawberry in his mouth.

...

Later, they finally got the girls to sleep and were sitting on the couch. Annie was as close to Auggie as she could get. "You are good with them." She stated.

Auggie huffed. "They terrify and amuse me all at the same time."

"Yeah."

Annie could tell Auggie was deep in thought. She ran her fingers over his leg. "So you love me very much?" She asked, quietly.

Auggie gripped her tightly. "Yeah." He said quietly. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah." She responded. She readjusted to give him a kiss. "I love you, too."

"Your niece says that means we have to get married and make babies." Auggie said between kisses, jokingly.

Annie was quiet a moment, but the way she was gently moving her finger in his hair told him that it wasn't because she was upset. "Do you think that sort of future is possible for us?"

Auggie looked toward her with a bit of shock. "Of course it is." He stated gently. "I know my history with reading our relationship isn't the best, but I thought things were going well so far."

Annie stopped twirling her finger and placed her whole hand on the back of Auggie's head. "I didn't mean it that way. This is the best relationship I've ever been a part of, and I want it to last. I just wonder if our lives are on the path for domestic bliss. I mean, if anybody was on that path, it was Danielle, and look how that turned out."

"Two wonderful little girls and running her own company?"

Annie went back to twirling his hair while she considered things. "Do you see yourself with kids one day?" She asked.

Finally it was Auggie's turn to be pensive. He swallowed. "Yeah." He grinned, "As much as I see anything in my future."

Annie gave him a soft punch in the arm for his attempt at lightheartedness.

Auggie continued. "There was a time where I saw that future. Marriage, children, a house in the suburbs that I returned to after exotic missions with lame cover stories. If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty good at coming up with plans."

They sat in silence a moment.

"I've also learned that plans change. You adapt to what life gives you, and that doesn't always mean that you are settling for something less exciting."

"So you don't mind if the thought of having kids scares me more than a Russian Prison?"

Auggie smiled. "I love you, Annie. I don't love you because of any of the traditional reasons, and I don't expect anything about our relationship to be typical. I'm in this for whatever comes next, whether it is changing diapers or a week in the Nicaraguan jungle collecting intel and catching malaria. I've gone into too many relationships with expectations before, and I hope that I've learned from those mistakes."

As he finished, Annie leaned in and kissed him passionately. "I love you, too." She said as she briefly pulled away.

... and she sincerely hoped that the events that followed didn't lead to diapers in the near future.


	21. Vacay

"Let's get out of town this weekend." Auggie stated, out of the blue.

Annie raised her eyebrows. "Do you know something I don't?"

"That you are going stir crazy." Auggie said.

Annie sighed. "As intuitive as you are, I couldn't imagine what a smug asshole you must have been when you could pick up on visual cues."

Auggie smiled. "Everybody loved me then, too." He added a wink. "I just might have been better about noticing it." He added softly.

Annie gave him a kiss on the cheek. "All's well that ends well. Yes, I think I would enjoy a weekend away. But I'm going to make the arrangements this time."

Auggie grinned. "Whatever you say, dear."

...

Annie flew a lot, but flying with Auggie was completely different than her solo missions. She gladly gave him the window seat, raising the arm on the seat between them and curling into his side. He held her close and stretched his legs as much as he could manage.

When they exited the airport, Annie found a man holding a sign saying "Walker."

"Miss Walker, Mister Anderson. I hope your flight was comfortable."

Annie grinned and noticed Auggie was doing the same. "It was just fine. Is everything ready?"

"Certainly. Are you waiting for bags?"

"No, we are traveling light. Just here for the weekend." She said, then they followed the man to the parking garage. "Perfect!" Annie stated when she saw the ride.

"What do we have?" Auggie asked.

As a response, Annie handed him a motorcycle helmet. He gave a broad smile as he put it on. "I better not be riding in a side-car this time."

"Here, take my backpack so it isn't between us." Annie said as she pushed it into his hand.

Auggie wordlessly complied as she led him to the motorcycle. Within a minute he was settled behind her and they were on the road.

A short ride later they stopped at a hotel and went to the room.

"What is on our agenda tonight?" Auggie asked, then kissed Annie to show his preference.

"Everything you have in mind, after dinner." She pulled away and he heard her bag rustling.

"Everything? I think you underestimate what I have in mind."

"Likewise." She responded seductively in a whisper directly into his ear.

She handed him the backpack, which was heavier this time. Again, they got onto the motorcycle and hit the streets.

Auggie was oddly comfortable with the fact that he had no idea where they were and where they were going. He trusted Annie in ways that surprised himself. As they cruised on a straight flat stretch of road, he dropped his hands from her body and held them out to the sides, enjoying the rush of the air against his skin. The bike slowed and Annie tapped his thigh. He wrapped his arms around her again and heard the engine push as they accelerated up a hill.

The bike leaned into the turns as they made their way up a hill. Annie maneuvered the vehicle gracefully, while Auggie tried to distract her with his hands that were comfortably just below her breasts.

At the top of the hill, Annie slowed the bike to a stop. Auggie slid off the back and pulled off his helmet. Gravel crunched beneath his feet and it sounded like they were alone.

"I take it we aren't at the restaurant?" He asked.

"We are in top of a hill, rather secluded, overlooking the bay."

Auggie could hear the waves crashing below. "So, this is our dinner?" Auggie asked, holding up the backpack.

"Got it in one." Annie replied.

"You handled those turns pretty well." Auggie said as Annie laid out a blanket.

"It wasn't my first time driving a bike." She replied, handing him a bottle of wine and corkscrew.

"It was a thrill."

Annie pulled him down on the blanket and poured the wine into small plastic cups.

"I assume there is some food in that bag, as well?"

Annie laughed a breath. "Yes."

...

They headed back early, with Annie taking the turns more slowly. Auggie was in the process of taking her clothes off as they entered the hotel room.

"What did you have in mind for tomorrow?" Auggie asked.

"I don't know. Sit on the beach? People watching? Build a giant sandcastle?"

Auggie smiled "You do like to play in the waves, right?"

"Of course."


	22. Inconsideration

"Thanks for coming for dinner, you two. It's lonely with the girls at camp." Danielle stated over dinner at her house.

"Not a problem," Auggie replied. "I always enjoy your cooking."

"By the way, Auggie, I am blaming you for the horrible day I had." Danielle added.

"You wouldn't be the first. What did I do?"

"Evidently you taught me to be inconsiderate toward the blind."

Auggie smirked. "That sounds like me."

"I'm serious! This man chewed me out. It was horrible."

"Did you lead him into a pole or something?"

"No. He fell down the steps."

"That's always upsetting."

"Who was this guy and why were you leading him around?" Annie asked.

"I was meeting a client at a hotel, and she brought her parents. She and her mom were going over the seating arrangements, so I offered to help her father to the bathroom. There were two steps down, and he tumbled right into me. Thankfully he wasn't hurt, but I felt horrible."

"He didn't feel you go down first?" Auggie asked.

"I guess not." Danielle quipped.

"I never tell you about steps." Annie said.

Auggie shrugged. "I always feel the other person drop. It's not that big of a deal. But not everybody is as good as me." To punctuate his point, Auggie stuck his fork directly into a piece of asparagus on his plate and popped it into his mouth.

"They acted like I intentionally threw him down a flight of stairs. I was horrified."

Auggie sat down his fork and sighed. "Danielle, don't worry about it. Everybody makes mistakes. Living with this," he motioned at his eyes, "Is hard. Everybody faces it their own way. And sometimes it feels really good to be able to blame things that happen on others."

Danielle was quiet a moment. "So you aren't secretly always frustrated with me?"

Auggie scoffed. "You are fine. Probably right to blame me for it all, though."

"You always make it look easy." Danielle said, openly staring at Auggie as he ate.

"It isn't." Auggie said very seriously. He looked directly at Danielle. "I lost my sight when I was young and invincible. Before the accident, I was damn good at adapting, and far more coordinated than your average computer geek. I'm sure there are hundreds of things that I deal with on a daily basis that are a struggle for other blind guys. Everybody is different."

"How old were you when it happened?" Danielle was never afraid to ask about things.

"Twenty eight."

"You still thought you were invincible at twenty eight?"

Auggie had to laugh. "Yep." He left out the fact that he still pretty much felt the same way. He had to, or the vulnerabilities of life would overwhelm him.

...

After dessert, Auggie excused himself to go to Annie's mostly abandoned apartment to make a phone call.

"He's amazing." Danielle said once she and Annie were alone.

"Yep." Annie replied.

"And he's lasted more than three weeks."

"He'd go to the courthouse and marry me tomorrow if I gave him the slightest hint that's what I wanted. He's not running off, and it's not because he can't see the path."

"You think pretty highly of yourself." Danielle replied, taking a drink. Then her eyes lit up with an idea. "Or is he smothering you? Please don't tell me you are feeling smothered. He is so good for you, and the two of you..."

Annie waved off Danielle's concern. "We are fine. We are so fine that it freaks me out, really."

"I'll drive you to the courthouse myself." Danielle said with a wink.

"Not yet." Annie replied. "I'll make sure you are there."


	23. Bluebonnet

_**AN: I wasn't completely happy with what I posted yesterday, so you get something better tonight!**_ _**Oddly, of all the things I did this past weekend, I got this piece of inspiration from watching S3 DVDs last night. **_

* * *

Auggie and Annie were exhausted. They arrived at Quantico on a cargo flight and were picked up by an Agency driver in a black Tahoe. There was no way they could sleep on the flight, they were still wearing the sweat and mud coated clothes they had been stuck in for the past week, and Auggie was fighting the beginnings of a migraine.

He was quickly falling asleep in the quiet, climate controlled SUV when Annie sighed. "So much for a relaxing bath."

Auggie wasn't surprised, but he wasn't happy. "Are they taking us to the office?"

"No, worse."

He turned toward her. They were sitting apart, trying to look like two spies returning from a shady mission, rather than two lovers that had just violated every bit of protocol and narrowly escaped being captured in the rain forest. "We aren't heading toward the city at all?"

"Nope. I guess we get a little bit more vacation time." She explained.

Auggie sighed and leaned back. "Great." He drew out the word. "At least at Bluebonnet they'll give us juice."

"Have you been there before?" Annie asked.

"It's been a while." Auggie responded. "But I remember they were pushy about that juice. I wasn't a big fan of the shower pressure, either."

They traveled in silence for the next hour, and Auggie actually got a little bit of sleep. When they arrived, Annie came around and met him by the door. He lost his cane almost a week earlier, when they were first captured.

The same man that had handled Annie's brief interrogation after Russia walked toward them.

"Welcome Agent Walker and Captain Anderson. I know you have had a long journey. We have two rooms set up for you, with some fresh clothes. Cheryl here will lead you to them so that you can freshen up, and then I would like to talk with you a little bit."

"I'd prefer to stay with Annie." Auggie stated.

"I'm sure you would, Captain, but that would be improper. I understand that your cane was lost on this last mission, but there is a new one waiting in your room. Cheryl will make sure you find it."

Their "rooms" were less than premium accommodations. They each had a small room with a twin bed and small bathroom. After showing Annie to her room and asking her to meet at the barn in thirty minutes, Cheryl walked Auggie several doors down to his. She handed him the folded cane that was waiting on the bed.

"Your bag and some towels are also on the bed. I'll come back in twenty minutes to help you back to the barn."

"I can find my way." Auggie replied.

The young woman stared at Auggie a moment, then shrugged. "Suit yourself." She replied. "I'm happy to help."

Auggie ignored her and started searching the bag to know the contents. Feeling dismissed, Cheryl walked out. Auggie relaxed a little when he heard the door close. He ran his fingers over his clothes and found the Braille tag proving that they had definitely gone to his apartment. The thought of the CIA going through his things was irritating, but not completely unexpected.

He quickly showered, shaved off the week-old beard, and put on some clothes before heading toward Annie's room. He tapped at the door. "Walker, you still here?"

He quickly heard the knob turn and the door open. "Yeah, come on in."

"Wouldn't want to be _improper_." Auggie responded.

"We are about to be grilled on why we had to be extracted from a guerrilla compound in Nicaragua while we were supposed to be on a beach in Costa Rica. I'd prefer they focus on our improprieties stateside."

Auggie shrugged. "Everything came out okay. I'm sure they are just making us take time to decompress."

"I'd decompress better if we could share a bed tonight."

"Have you noticed how small these beds are?" Auggie asked.

"I don't care."

"Are you ready to head back to the barn?" Auggie asked.

"Almost. We have a few minutes."

"They gave me less time than you. But they didn't give me anything to tell the time, so..."

"At least they found you a cane."

"Rummage through my apartment and you'll always find a spare. Did they get your clothes at my place, too?"

"Yep. I guess they were feeling lazy." She said as she pulled her still-wet hair into a ponytail. "Okay, I'm ready to go."

Auggie stood up and Annie brushed his arm. They walked to the barn, where the picnic table was set up with the same red checkered table cloth and bottle of juice as the last time Annie was there. The same interrogator was giving them a judgmental glare as they approached the table.

"I see you found your way back just fine." He commented.

Neither Annie or Auggie responded.

"You two had a rough trip. Do either of you need medical attention?"

"I could use a cup of coffee and some Tylenol." Auggie responded. His headache wasn't worse, but it wasn't getting better.

"We'll get that for you Captain Anderson. Walker, would you like some juice?"

"Coffee for me, too." She replied.

He started to pour two glasses of juice. Auggie rolled his eyes when a cold glass pushed against his hand.

"You two are going to be here a few days. It is both for a debrief and because the Agency would like you to take a vacation, and your definition of a vacation is not what they have in mind."

"My definition of a vacation includes a bigger bed." Auggie quipped.

"Is that why you were sleeping on the ground in the middle of the rainforest most of last week Captain Anderson?"

"That wasn't where I made the reservation." He responded.

"Yes, your reservation was at the Blue Lagoon resort in Costa Rica. You weren't even in the same country."

"I got lost on the way back from brunch. There may have been rum involved." Auggie responded.

Auggie could hear the interrogator take a deep breath of exasperation. "Agent Anderson, I'm going to need to talk to Agent Walker alone for a moment. I'm sure both of you are very tired from everything that has happened. Why don't you go lay down for a little while. I'll send Cheryl when I'm ready to talk to you."

Auggie swallowed and pushed back from the table. As he stood he faced the man. "I was serious about the coffee."

"Here is Cheryl with it now." A warm mug was pushed against Auggie's hand. He smiled as he gripped the mug. Placing his cane in the same hand he held out his other palm.

"Any other goodies for me Cheryl?"

Two pills landed in his hand and Auggie popped them in his mouth. "Thank you." He said before expanding his cane and walking out of the barn.

"Now, Agent Walker. Let's discuss your most recent romantic development."

"Our relationship has been completely above book." Annie responded.

"What the two of you have done in your spare time has not." He responded.

"What do you need to know so we can get out of here?" Annie answered bluntly.

"Why don't you just tell me about your romantic vacation, from the beginning."

"The beginning? Well, I had my first day at the CIA in the summer of 2010. I'm sure Auggie's role that day is in my file."

"The beginning of the vacation, not the relationship, please." Annie suppressed a grin at the irritation showing on the interrogator's face.

"We flew to Costa Rica last Sunday to spend a week at a resort. The next thing we knew, we were abducted and taken to Nicaragua."

"Are you trying to tell me it was a random abduction?"

"Look. You and I both know nothing about this was random. But the thing is, there are very few people at the CIA that I trust these days. I would be happy to tell every detail of our little adventure to Joan or Arthur Campbell, but since I don't know you any more than I know the barista at Starbucks, I'm not feeling completely open today."

The interrogator sat back and looked at the agent before him. He was silent a moment. "You have plenty of reason not to trust the Agency, Walker. Why do you continue to work in such a dangerous job if you can't trust those that are around you?"

"I trust those that matter." She responded.

"Which mostly just includes your boyfriend."

"He has never failed me." Annie replied with a steely glare. "He is the only person at the Agency I can say that about."

"So you feel the Agency has failed you in the past?"

Annie looked disgusted and sat back. "I was shot in the chest by a woman that was in charge of a whole Division!"

"I still hate that we didn't get a proper debrief after your last encounter with her. I think we would have avoided this whole situation if I had been given the proper time."

"This whole situation?" Annie asked. "The one where I'm dating another Agent, or the one where I'm gathering valuable intel on my vacation time?"

"The one where you are constantly running and not getting anywhere."

Annie narrowed her eyes and leaned toward her interrogator. "Is this a debrief, or counseling?"

"Both." He answered coolly.

"Then how about this, give us the night off. Even better, let us have that night in our own home. Then bring us back when we can focus on more than our complete exhaustion and aching muscles. If we have to go through this pseudo-therapy bullshit, let's start in the morning."

He sat back and gave a small nod. "Okay, Agent Walker. I'll let the two of you rest up this evening. If you are hungry, come back in an hour for some dinner. We'll resume our discussions in the morning."

Annie couldn't get up and get out of the barn fast enough. She walked past her room and stopped a few doors down. "Auggie! I don't know which room is yours."

A moment later one of the doors opened and her groggy-faced boyfriend emerged. "Do we have to go shovel horseshit now?"

Annie pushed into his room. "Not until morning. We have the night off." She pulled him toward the small bed that he had obviously just vacated.

Wordlessly, Auggie laid on his side and Annie curled up in front of him. They were asleep within minutes.


	24. Bluebonnet 2

Annie and Auggie went from a deep sleep to being wide awake with the sound of pounding on the door.

"Who is it?" Auggie shouted.

"Is Walker in there?" Cheryl's voice came through.

Auggie rested his head back on the pillow. "I feel like I'm back in middle school." He said while Annie slid out of the bed.

"I'm here." Annie said through the door.

"Just checking." Cheryl replied. "I don't need you to come out or anything. Just wanted to let you know that breakfast is in a half-hour."

"Thanks!" Annie said, sitting up next to Auggie on the glorified cot.

"How long were we out?" Auggie asked. The deep sleep, combined with the lack of his watch and phone, left him disoriented.

"Well, it's seven am, and I joined you around five yesterday, so fourteen hours?"

"Wow."

"Yeah. You feeling okay?"

"Stiff and sore. You?"

"Pretty much the same. That bruise on your arm is looking spectacular."

"Spectacular how?" Auggie asked.

"Purple, green, yellow, and everything in between." Annie ran her fingers over the edge of the color. "It has to be sore."

"Yeah. A little." He ran his own fingers over the area where their captor had fiercely grabbed him. The skin was very tender. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Nothing significant."

Auggie nodded. The amount of time they spent in the rainforest, they both had a fair share of scratches. "Do you want to freak them out by showing up to breakfast early?" He asked.

"Sure. I need to go to my room real quick. Meet me there?"

Fifteen minutes later Annie and Auggie walked into the barn together. The picnic table was piled with bagels, muffins, and (of course) juice. There wasn't anybody else around at the moment, so Annie went straight for the food. "Muffin or bagel?" She asked.

"Both." Auggie replied. "Do we have bananas?"

"Yep. Oh, here's some yogurt." She didn't have to ask before pushing the small plastic cup into Auggie's hand. They sat by the food and slowly stuffed their faces.

They were full of carbs and yogurt when their interrogator arrived. "I see you found breakfast. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." Annie responded. "Let's get this over with."

"I know that's what you want, Agent Walker. But like I told you yesterday, we are going to take a few days with this. In fact, I'd like you to help Cheryl with some of the morning chores while I have a talk with Captain Anderson."

Annie got up and gave Auggie a pat on the shoulder as she walked away.

"Captain Anderson, welcome back to Bluebonnet."

"Didn't like you the first time, Gary. I'm definitely not excited to be here now." Auggie responded with a steely glare.

"If anybody was excited to be here, they wouldn't need to be here. Do you really think your distaste for relaxation is rare in your line of work?"

Auggie pinched his lips and tilted his head.

"So, let's get to it." Gary continued.

"No, I do not want more juice." Auggie responded.

"Why were you in Nicaragua?"

"Told you yesterday, I got lost."

"So on your way back from lunch, with your sighted girlfriend, you stumbled into a Nicaraguan Rain Forest where you ended up captured by guerrilla rebels?"

"That sounds right. I would never go there willingly. Monkeys freak me out. Hey - let's talk about that, doc."

"You are a seasoned agent, August. You know why protocol is important, you know why it is important to go on missions with the Agency's blessing. You know exactly why these off-book adventures are not only dangerous to you, but to the intelligence gathering efforts of the United States Government. Are you so love-sick that you are forgetting all of this?"

"My relationship has not clouded my decision making skills in the slightest." Auggie responded, coolly.

"You never went rogue before Walker was around."

"I never had to."

"Do you not feel you are getting the support you need in your current position?"

Auggie turned his head and took a deep breath. "There's a lot going on at Langley right now. My instincts have served me well in the past, and I'm sticking with them on this. I've done dark ops, Gary. I know how to work without the Agency's support. I'm comfortable with what Walker and I have been doing."

"I'm not worried about your comfort, August. I'm worried about the bigger picture."

"So am I."

"Then we have the same goal. Share your reasoning with me."

Auggie leaned forward. "My reasoning is that until I know who I can trust, I'm not trusting anybody. That includes you."

"I see." Gary replied.

Auggie started to make a snarky reply, but was silent.

"After Iraq - "

"I was forced to see a therapist. I didn't need it then, and I'm definitely not spilling my soul to you now." Auggie interrupted.

"I was going to say, that after Iraq, you really took to your new position in the CIA as well as your old one. It was impressive."

Auggie sighed and sat back.

"You've proven that you are a valuable member of the Agency, even with field value. You realize that going off-book and getting captured in Nicaragua decreases that value, rather than adding to it?"

"My vacation wasn't meant to be a resume-builder." Auggie replied.

"Did you gain whatever intelligence you were seeking?"

Auggie shrugged. "I realized monkeys aren't so creepy when you can't see them."

The interrogator took an exaggerated sigh. "I see. I think we are done for this morning, Captain Anderson. There are some chores you need to help with around here, and then you will start the polygraph."

"Can I drive the tractor?" Auggie asked.

The only answer he got was a brush of his arm and a lead out of the barn.

Auggie didn't hear any sign of Annie when he was passed off to Cheryl.

"Hello Captain Anderson."

"Hey Cheryl. If we are going to be working together, call me August."

"Thanks August. But you are going to be on your own today."

"Sounds good." Auggie replied. "Peeling potatoes?"

Cheryl laughed. "I think you are a bit over-qualified for that. You are inspecting the fencing."

"Oh am I?" Auggie asked with wide eyes.

"Yep. Just the electric fencing. Here." She led him to the fence and put his hand on the top rail. "It's wooden fencing, but some of the horses like to chew on it, so we have one string of electric wire in front of the wood - here." She moved his hand to a thin wire, and he jumped back after touching it. "I turned the power off, August. You can trust me."

"If you say so." He replied as he put his hand back on the wire, slowly.

"There's a good twenty acres surrounded by this fence, and somewhere there is interference with the wire.

"So I need to find what's interfering."

"Exactly. Just follow the wire, if you find a branch on top, move it out of the way or tag it with this surveying ribbon." She handed Auggie a spool of plastic ribbon. "If you have any problems, just shout. If you don't make it all the way around when it's time for lunch, I'll come pick you up in the 4-Wheeler."

"Is this the only gate?" Auggie asked.

"One of three."

Auggie nodded and turned away, getting right to work. Cheryl watched him navigate the first hundred feet, then went into the barn where Annie was cleaning out a stall.

"There's a reason I didn't enjoy horses as a little girl." Annie said when Cheryl arrived.

"This is the easy job." Cheryl replied. "You have a reprieve to go to the main barn."

"I'd hardly call that a reprieve." Annie replied as she leaned the pitchfork against the wall.

The polygraph machine was set up when Annie walked in, and she sat in front of the computer.

When Annie was finally finished with the polygraph, Auggie came in from the field. They finally got some time together over a lunch of cold cut sandwiches.

"Do they ever serve warm food around here?" Annie asked Auggie.

"Hopefully at dinner." Auggie replied. "Though with what we escaped earlier this week, I have no doubt we could make a run to McDonalds if we really put our minds to it."

"I'm tired of running." Annie replied.

Auggie took her hand in his and squeezed. "Then let's just enjoy our sandwiches, and save our energy for whatever chores and polygraphs await."

"I'm done with my polygraph, Anderson. You are next."

"Ugh." Auggie responded. "Maybe we should have stayed in Nicaragua."


	25. Roll in the Hay - Bluebonnet 3

After lunch, Auggie went to take his polygraph and Annie was taken to the barn to get back to work. This time, Cheryl stayed with her and was rather talkative.

"You and August are tight. Don't see that much from your company."

"Does another company use your facility?" Annie asked.

"Sometimes. It's a versatile facility. Hard work and fresh air heals a lot."

Annie didn't feel like being psychoanalyzed any more, so she ignored the conversation and focused on the work.

"Your company really does train you to be the strong silent types." Cheryl commented after a few minutes of silence.

Annie looked at her with a smile.

A few more minutes passed in silence. "Did you know August before he lost his sight?"

Annie rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you've seen my file."

"Actually I haven't. My clearance isn't as high as Gary's."

Annie sighed. "No. He was blind when we met."

Another few moments of silence passed while they slowly worked.

"It has to be a big deal, going on a mission with a blind partner." Cheryl asked.

Annie shrugged. "Auggie holds his own."

"I've seen that." Cheryl replied. "But still, it's a major limitation."

Annie knew she was being baited and refused to respond. This time Cheryl let the silence take over.

An hour later, the subject of their brief conversation maneuvered his way into the working barn. "Reporting for duty." He announced to whoever was around.

"Oh, good." Cheryl replied. "I have a special task for the two of you to do together!"

"That doesn't sound good." Auggie replied as Annie walked up and took his arm. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, as well.

An hour later Annie and Auggie were alone with two piles of hay bales. Auggie was pulling a bale from one pile and handing it to Annie, who was on top of the other pile, stacking them neatly.

"I guess it won't matter that this farm doesn't have a gym." Auggie said as he hoisted up another bale.

"I always thought a roll in the hay would sound romantic. Now it just seems itchy." Annie commented as she fished some of the dried grass out of her shirt.

"It wouldn't be my first choice."

"There is more room up here than where we slept last night, though."

Auggie smiled as he slowly moved and selected a new bale. "We could bring a blanket..."

…

Even though they were two world-class trained spies, Annie felt like a kid sneaking around at summer camp when she and Auggie met outside their rooms that night. She practically giggled as Auggie led them along the dark path back to the hay barn. They silently slipped inside. Annie surveyed to make sure they were really alone, then they climbed up the bales of hay they had stacked earlier and spread out the blankets from their beds.

"Ah!" Annie said as she stretched on their make-shift bed. "Tonight you won't be squished against the wall, and I won't be hanging off the edge!"

Auggie pressed a kiss against her shoulder. "And we aren't worried about poisonous snakes and rebel leaders."

"I kind of enjoyed the rainforest." Annie replied, moving her finger over Auggie's chest.

Auggie was quiet a moment. "There were a lot of unknowns." He said, his voice distant.

Annie flattened her palm on his chest in a way that was reassuring. "You were kind of out of your element out there."

"That's putting it mildly." Auggie could finally admit to himself that being without any of his equipment, in the middle of the rainforest, had been one of the scariest moments since he went blind.

Annie gently climbed on top of him, pulled up his shirt and kissed him gently on the chest. "We got out okay, and you played a big part in that."

Auggie placed his hands in her hair and took a deep breath. "When they took you away..." his voice cracked, and he stopped.

"I could see you the whole time. To anyone else, you didn't appear phased by that at all." Annie spoke as she unbuttoned his pants. She didn't add that to her, he had looked as scared as she'd ever seen him.

"If I lost you, I don't know what I would have done."

Annie had worked her way back up his chest where she firmly placed her hand and spoke directly to his face. "You aren't usually one to need reassurances, Anderson, but you would have found a way, and you would have survived. I'm sure of it."

He pulled her hand off his chest. Before she realized it, he had flipped their positions and was on top. The fire in his eyes so powerful that she could swear they were glowing in the dark. "I'm not talking about physically surviving. If something had happened to you, I don't know that I would have wanted to survive. I... I need you, Annie. Not to lead me out of the forest, but to drag me into the forest in the first place. I don't need you because I'm blind, I need you because you are the greatest thing to ever happen to me."

Annie couldn't form words, just pulled her body tight against his. As she tried to catch her breath he took her mouth in a rough, passionate kiss. A kiss that claimed her for his own and expressed gratitude that he couldn't put into words.

…

The barn door made a lot of noise as it slid open. The bright sun shining through was immediately shadowed by Auggie rolling on top of Annie, bringing the blanket with him. By pure coincidence, they fell in a crack between hay bales, out of sight of whoever had walked in.

They stayed quietly pressed together as the footsteps came toward the pile of hay, stopping to remove a bale. A moment later a wheelbarrow squeaked as it rolled out the door. Annie gently tried to get up to check for their escape, struggling in the tight space with the mix of limbs and blankets.

"It's clear." She whispered.

She reached for their shoes that were still sitting on top of the bales. They quickly put on their shoes and balled up the blankets. Annie surveyed the area and carefully led Auggie down, and snuck back to his room. Once the door was shut, they both burst out laughing.

"I definitely feel like I'm back in middle school." Auggie said.

Annie looked at the clock in the room. "We are late for breakfast. Cheryl will be coming for us soon." She said as she brushed the hay off his shirt. "It will probably be easier to change clothes then get all the hay off you."

"Okay," Auggie said as he started to strip.

"I need to change as well. Meet you at the barn."

Annie quickly changed clothes, and casually walked into the barn for breakfast.

"Good morning Annie!" Cheryl greeted. "Auggie isn't with you?"

"He's on his way. We overslept."

"Oh. Must be tight, sharing those little cots."

"Yeah. We made it work." She said as she added some milk to her coffee.

"I see that." Cheryl responded. "Literally. You have a piece of hay in your ponytail."


	26. Olfactory

_**A/N: Some fluff, while I work on more intense things. **_

* * *

Auggie looked up from his desk when he heard Annie's footsteps come close. She leaned over and sat a cup of coffee "at his ten o' clock." He inhaled as she discreetly placed a kiss on his cheek.

The air he breathed was Jo Malone Grapefruit, mixed with the light scent of her hair products. It was a clean, fresh smell that would always remind him off when they first met. He equated it with innocence and fresh beginnings, even though she consistently recreated the scent every morning, years later. That was the thing about smells, the foul odors could be washed away every morning to create something pure and refreshing.

...

Annie had been on the treadmill while Auggie worked the heavy bag. When she finished she walked over and let him know the time so they could make it to the afternoon meeting. She stood close while he removed the gloves. Her scent stood out among the stale air of the gym.

After working out, Annie always smelled like herself and nothing else. The perfume was gone, the hair products were gone, and all that was left was her. It was a smell that reminded Auggie of their relationship growing through the years. They had bonded in the gym, as well as learning their way around each other's bodies. From early in their relationship they had to share each other in any other environment, but the gym was always one-on-one time.

For that reason, Auggie loved the smell of her sweat.

...

Hollman and Barber had challenged each other to a game of darts, so Annie and Auggie took their leave from the bar. Auggie gently held Annie's elbow as she led him through the rain to her car.

The air conditioning in Auggie's apartment gave them both chillbumps when they walked inside. They both set their keys in the tray near the door at the same time and Auggie's eyes lit up.

With his arms around Annie's waist, Auggie took a deep breath. He leaned his forehead against hers and ran his fingers through her hair. The rain and beer, mixed with the scent of Annie at the end of a regular workday, took him back to their first kiss. He took another few deep breaths, enjoying the memory.

"Everything okay?" Annie asked gently from between Auggie's hands.

"Yeah." He responded with a secretive smile. " Just perfect."


	27. Boom

Annie knew she would be working with Eyal again, but she never thought it would be so soon. It had only been two months before the Agency brought him on as a consultant to help her out on a mission in the Middle East. Part of her assignment was to evaluate Eyal's loyalties, as they considered giving him a more permanent role.

"Take your shoes off Neshama. We are going to be here for a while." Eyal stated as they walked into the safe-house. Annie slipped out of her heels and carefully placed them under a ledge in the corner by the door.

"I see that you have stayed out of trouble for the past two months."

"Why would you say that?" Annie replied.

"I haven't had to come rescue you."

"There are other rescuers out there, you know." Annie said as she pushed a crooked chair under the table.

"I do. And you are sleeping with him now, aren't you?"

Annie looked at Eyal, startled. "I... Why do you say that?"

"I may not work for Mossad, but I'm still a fully trained spy. You seem happy. I'm happy for you."

Annie smiled. "Thank you."

"He's been nutty about you for a while, you know."

"Not long enough," Annie replied. "He almost missed his chance." She looked at Eyal pointedly in a way that made him mourn for the lost opportunity.

"It's safer for you with him." Eyal said, with a touch of sadness.

"We aren't together because it's safe." Annie explained.

"I never said it was safe. Just that it is safer."

Annie shrugged. "How about you?"

"Oh, I'm getting by well enough."

"Have you really cut ties with Mossad?"

"Does the CIA keep people around half-way? This is an all-or-nothing industry."

"Touché."

"Don't you need to check in?"

Annie pulled out her phone and stepped away from Eyal. "Yes, but then I'm hiding my phone from you so I can be sure it survives this mission."

She punched the number quickly and heard Auggie's voice after two rings.

"Hello dear."

"Hey babe. I'm here safe and sound."

"Great. And your liaison?"

"Sends you his love."

"Glad you found him. Okay, you should have a clear view across the street into a room with the target. You know what to do. Be safe."

"Any more information on the other guys we are dealing with here?"

"They are up to something big and dirty, and they have meetings all over town tonight. You're going to have to figure everything else out from there."

"Got it. I'll be in touch." She ended the call and walked back in the room with Eyal.

"Lots of activity over there." Eyal said as he watched the target.

"They are supposed to be leaving soon." Annie stated.

"All of them?" He let Annie look. The room they were watching held no less than seven people.

"I have no idea. Think they would even notice if we joined the fun?"

"It would be impossible not to notice you, Neshama."

Annie gave him a look that showed she was flattered, but not interested. "I guess we just wait, then."

An hour later it finally looked like all of the people in the room were leaving, so Annie and Eyal prepared to go in. Annie gave Auggie a quick call to let him know, and he instructed her to call him as soon as they were in the room.

Pretending to be a happy couple, Annie and Eyal ran into few people as they made their way up into the apartment building. Eyal quickly opened the lock for the room they were to search and bug. Carefully, the duo entered, prepared for whatever may come.

"We're in." Annie said quietly into the headset as soon as they entered the apartment.

"Good." Auggie replied. "What electronics do you see?"

Annie listed the various computers and stereo systems around the room.

"Let's start with anything that has a USB port. Just stick that device I gave you inside, and I'll be plugged into your international party over there."

Annie went to a computer and stuck the device in. Within seconds, data started appearing on Auggie's screen, and he was able to determine the value of the intel.

The intel was troubling.

"Annie, what did you plug this into?"

"A very large computer." She replied.

"What I'm reading here looks like a very small bomb."

"What do you mean?" Annie asked, looking at the machine more closely.

"I'm not sure what I mean, but I think you need to leave the USB there, and get out. Now."

"But we just got here." Annie responded, frustrated.

"Humor me, and get out."

"Auggie, a bomb activated by a USB-"

"NOW, Annie, it looks like there is some sort of self-destruct mode. You have to get out." The panic in his voice was one she rarely heard.

Annie walked to the other room and got Eyal. "We gotta go."

"Somebody coming?" Eyal asked.

"Something like that." Annie replied, not wanting to explain.

"ANNIE HURRY." Auggie came through the earbud.

"We're hurrying," she responded.

"I'd feel best if you got out of the-" Auggie could hear the blast through his headset, and the line went dead. "ANNIE!"

Silence. All Auggie could hear in the DPD was silence. He reached for his phone. "I need backup to respond now. There has been an explosion, two operatives are assumed to be hurt. What's your ETA? FIVE MINUTES IS TOO LONG."

Auggie slammed the phone down, and Barber came running into the office. "What's wrong?"

"I need you to see if you can get a visual on Annie's surveillance area."

Barber stood a moment, noticing how pale Auggie looked and almost expecting more explanation.

"NOW." Auggie shouted.

Barber jumped to respond. "Anything in particular I'm looking for?"

"It was a trap. There was an explosion." Auggie was unable to sit at his desk, so he was leaning over his keyboard, tracking the extraction team. When his fingers weren't on the Braille display, they were tapping impatiently on the desktop.

"The building looks fine from what I'm pulling up. It wasn't that large of an explosion."

"That's good news." Auggie said, and the slight way he relaxed showed that he meant it. "The delay on that feed is only thirty seconds or so, right?"

"Yeah. There are some emergency responders on site."

"Patch us in on the police scanner."

"Will do, boss."

Information was coming at Auggie from all directions, and he was following every bit of it as he paced three steps in each direction in front of his computer. While Barber was used to the unusual amounts of audio in the office, the mix that was blaring now gave him an immediate headache.

None of the information streaming their way was giving the answer that Auggie needed. He needed Annie's voice to let him know that she was okay.

So they waited.

And waited.

The positive side was that there was no news coming through the scanners of any injuries or death.

Barber watched his boss as he stopped in front of his computer and tapped his foot. Every muscle in Auggie's body was tense and jittery. "Any news on the visual?" Auggie asked.

"Nope." Barber replied.

...

Meanwhile, Annie and Eyal were hiding from rescue workers, trying to get far enough away to start thinking about an extraction. Annie had dropped her phone in the blast, shattering the screen. She could see that Auggie was trying to call, but was unable to answer.

Eyal wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her through an alley, only to see firefighters coming from the other direction. He pulled her close to him as they ducked into an entryway, waiting for the rescuers to move through. The moment would have been incredibly intimate in any other circumstance, and Eyal held on slightly longer than necessary, looking at Annie rather than the path ahead.

"Let's go." Annie said with a tone that showed she knew where Eyal's mind was wandering, but wasn't going to humor him with being upset. She led the rest of the way out and away from the emergency vehicles.

Finally, far later than when she was comfortable with, she and Eyal were far enough away that they could check in. "Hand me your phone." Annie told Eyal.

"Let me make sure you are okay first." Eyal stated as he started to pull back her hair.

Annie pulled away. "I'm fine, and I'm serious. I need to call Auggie."

"Certainly puts a damper on your fieldwork when you have to check in with your boyfriend."

Annie glared at him. "You know damn well that I am checking in with my _handler_, as I always have."

"Because you've always had an emotional connection with him." Eyal responded as he pulled out a phone and pressed a few buttons. "Just press send. I have him in my contacts."

Annie looked at the phone, and sure enough the number for Auggie's unsecured line was on the screen. She smiled and hit send.

"Lithography." The word came out ridiculously fast and Annie could hear the anxiety. She could also hear a lot of background noise that sounded like police scanners. Auggie wasn't usually so sloppy.

"Customer service, please." She said the words as sweetly as she could. Seeing the response on Eyal's face made her blush.

The background noise on Auggie's end of the line suddenly disappeared, and she heard a sigh. "You okay?"

"Thanks to you. We're a few blocks away now. I assume the mission is scrapped?"

"Yes." Auggie replied without hesitation.

"There's no reason to think they know who we are." Eyal provided to Annie, loud enough that Auggie could hear him through the phone.

"Tell Eyal there's no reason to think that they don't. We don't know what type of surveillance was in that room and where it was being transmitted. They were prepared for you guys to be there."

"Got it." Annie replied.

"So Eyal saves the day again." Auggie stated, sounding more insecure than he would like.

"We aren't going there." Annie responded in a tone that didn't reveal to Eyal that she wasn't talking about a physical place.

Auggie sighed. "Where you are going is a car lot on the northeast side. I'll text the info to this number and see you within 24 hours. Well, more accurately, I'll touch you, but-"

"Sounds good." Annie interrupted, knowing that she was getting close to the point where Eyal steals the phone and throws it away. She hung up and handed the phone back.

"Information on where a car is waiting will be coming through shortly." Annie explained.

"Didn't sound like anything has changed." Eyal commented.

"It hasn't." Annie responded. "Until I get home and greet him with a big, passionate, kiss." She added with a wink.

Eyal nodded, but Annie could see the slight disappointment in his eyes. "Then let me help you get home to him."


	28. Release

**A/N This story is brought to you by excessive talk of Speedos, even before the Peter-Gallagher-in-a-Speedo tweets of Friday. **

Annie watched as Auggie stormed out of the DPD. As quickly as she could, she followed him as he headed down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Annie asked, hoping he wasn't about to rush into a confrontation.

"Doesn't matter." Auggie replied.

Annie grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. "Yes it does." She stated calmly.

Auggie pulled out of her hold. "No," he said very calmly, "It does not. But if you must know, I'm going to go release some frustration on the heavy bag. I'll be back in an hour."

Annie kept walking with him. She glanced into the gym before he walked into the locker room. "I don't think you want to do that."

Auggie stopped and turned to Annie, frustrated at her involvement. "Why not?"

"Because the reason for your anger is working out on the mats by the heavy bag. Do you really want him to see how much he got under your skin?" She reached for his arm. "Come on, we'll go for a run."

"No." He replied, almost solemn. "I appreciate it, but..."

"Yeah. I get it. I hold you back."

Auggie sighed. "Is he still there?" He asked.

Annie looked in the window. "Doesn't look like he's leaving any time soon."

"Fine." Auggie turned on his heel and headed back to the DPD.

Annie watched as he swapped canes. He picked up a phone and dialed. "Hey, Jeremy. This is August Anderson. Yeah, I know it's been a while. Are you available in about a half-hour? Good. I'll be right over." Auggie hung up the phone.

"Who's Jeremy?" Annie asked.

Auggie rolled his eyes. "Grunt worker at the Pentagon. Would you let me take a driver, or are you baby-sitting me?"

"I'm taking you." Annie replied.

Auggie rolled his eyes. "It's going to be kind of boring for you if you don't have a swimsuit."

"The Pentagon has a pool?" Annie replied in shock.

"Everybody has better gym facilities than us." Auggie replied.

"That's not right." Annie replied.

"Would be an easier battle to fight if everything down to the number of shower stalls in the locker room wasn't classified."

Annie nodded. "I'll run by cover ops and get a suit."

She was jealous of the Pentagon facilities before they were even out of the car. "Why didn't you tell me we had access to this?"

"Where would I go to get away from my coworkers if I told them about these things?" Auggie replied.

"I didn't ask why it wasn't a part of the initiation tour. Why didn't you tell _me?"_ Annie replied.

Auggie shrugged. "Never thought about it. It's kind of a pain in the ass to get over here. Besides, I'm not entirely sure if you are supposed to have access. It may just be for vets. Arthur of all people told me about it a couple of years ago."

They walked in the door and a young man came up to Auggie. "Auggie! Good to see you!"

"Thanks, man. It's been a while. This is my colleague, Annie."

"Nice to meet you, Annie."

"Likewise." She responded.

"Point me toward the locker room and I'll change real quick, so we can get started." Auggie stated.

"Sure thing, man."

When Annie emerged from the locker room Auggie was already in the water, making his way down the lane. While she was looking forward to him in a speedo, she wasn't surprised to see that he had on what looked like biking shorts. They were tight to his body, but not too revealing.

He wasn't as confident as some of the other swimmers, but his long frame moved easily through the water. He stayed close to the lane divider, occasionally brushing his body against the floating ropes and correcting himself. Jeremy slowly walked to the other end and gently tapped Auggie in the head as he got close to the edge. Auggie took one more stroke, stopped at the edge, and turned around.

Annie sat on the edge of the pool as Auggie swam toward her. It was rare to get to see him moving so freely, and as he moved he was slowly speeding up, gaining confidence to actually move through the water, unhindered by the need to orient himself. Jeremy reached over to tap Auggie a stroke before his hands landed on Annie's legs.

He stood in the water. "Well hello, Walker. Are you going to sit and watch, or are you going to join me?"

"Mmmm. That's a tough one." She replied. She couldn't resist touching his shoulder.

Auggie reached up and pulled her into the pool. "Don't make me self-conscious." He growled into her ear.

Annie giggled. "You've never been self-conscious a day in your life." She said quietly enough that nobody could hear them. Jeremy was already walking to the other side of the pool.

Auggie grinned, looking silly with his goggles still on. Without another word he dove into the water and kicked off the side of the pool. Annie gasped when he came out of the water in a powerful butterfly stroke, his back rising high out of the water and arching back in, exposing his tattoo and showing off his strength. Before she noticed, he was returning to her end of the pool, so she slipped into the empty adjacent lane.

As Jeremy tapped his head she asked "Does he always do that, or is he showing off?"

"Oh, he always does this. He's not one of the best swimmers around here, but he always swims like he has something to prove."

Annie nodded and watched as he moved through the water, Jeremy continuing his circuit back and forth on the pool deck. Eventually she dove in and started a gentle freestyle stroke.

Occasionally as she moved through the water, Auggie would pass by, moving swift and forcefully. He switched between butterfly and freestyle, and took few breaks. After a while, they ended up at the wall at the same time.

"Jeremy, how much more time do we have?" Auggie was asking.

"About ten minutes," He replied.

"Okay."

"Auggie?" Annie asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you wearing goggles?" She asked.

He grinned. "Getting water in my eyes is obnoxious. I'm going to do a few more laps then cool down. Are you having any fun over there?"

"Not as much as when I was sitting on the edge watching you." She replied.

Auggie grinned and dropped into the water, kicking off before replying.

Finally, Annie finished a lap and Auggie was sitting on the edge of the pool stretching. "Feeling better?" She asked.

"Yeah." He responded. "Meet you back in the lobby?" He asked.

"Sure." She watched as he stood up, beautifully covered in the water, and was led to the locker room by Jeremy.

As they drove back to Langley, Annie noticed how much more relaxed Auggie seemed. "Why don't you do that more often?"

Auggie shrugged. "I can pop to the CIA gym and spend thirty minutes with the heavy bag, or I can get a driver and coordinate with Jeremy. I usually just go with the easier option."

"Makes sense." Annie said. "I was a little sad that you didn't wear a speedo."

Auggie raised one eyebrow. "I would have to be blind for fifty years to be talked into going into public in a Speedo."

Annie grimaced. "Eighty year old men shouldn't wear them. You should give in while you are still young enough to pull it off."

"No." Auggie said very seriously. "Are we going back to work?"

Annie sighed. "If we have to." She opened the car door and walked around to meet him.

Auggie took her arm and leaned to give her a kiss on the forehead before they walked back into the building.


	29. BOOM-2

_**A/N I meant to post this before I moved on to something else, but yesterday somebody got under my skin and Auggie went swimming, instead. **_

"She's on the flight home, boss. Why are you still around?" Eric asked late in the evening when he found Auggie at his desk.

Auggie looked toward him and felt his watch for the time. "The car leaves for the airport in a few hours. I'm going to meet her there."

"If you don't trust Eyal, you shouldn't arrange for him to look after her so often."

Auggie pinched his eyebrows. "Why would you think I don't trust Eyal?"

Barber realized he may have crossed a line. "You seem more worried than normal, that's all."

"She was in an explosion!" Auggie replied.

Barber bit his lip. "You've been on this end of the line while she got through a lot of tight places before." He knew he was talking himself into trouble, but couldn't seem to stop.

"This was different." Auggie said, abruptly.

"Sort of my point." Barber mumbled.

Auggie opened his mouth to respond, then turned back to his computer. He decided to pretend he didn't hear Barber's last statement.

...

"Hey babe." Annie said as she slid into the backseat of the Agency car.

"Hey." He responded, pulling her close and giving her a light kiss on the mouth. "Good flight?"

"Yeah." She paused. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to meet you when you got home." Auggie replied.

"Yeah. Why are you really here?"

Auggie shrugged and looked away.

"Are you going to show up every time I work with Eyal?" Annie asked, softly.

Auggie looked back toward her with determination. "As long as he is as eager to work with you as he has always been? Probably."

She smiled at his honesty. "You know I don't have feelings for-"

"It's not your feelings I'm worried about." Auggie interrupted.

Annie sighed, but she looked at Auggie. The lights of the city reflected off his face as they drove toward Langley. "You're cute when you're jealous." She said with a smile that carried through to her tone.

Auggie exhaled and shook his head. "I know that he is a gentleman. But he has never hidden his attraction to you."

"He was very respectful." Annie reassured.

"But he's a warm-blooded man, and you are very hard to resist." Auggie practically growled.

"Drop it Anderson." Annie responded, her tone almost icy. "I've withstood Eyal's advances plenty of times without a relationship to keep him away, and he's not going to do anything to hurt either of us."

Auggie possessively placed his hand on her thigh. "I don't have to like it."

"Why do you keep pairing me with him, if you are so jealous?" Annie asked, perturbed. Despite her tone, she gently removed Auggie's hand from her thigh and held it in her own.

Auggie shrugged. "I didn't have anything to do with this time."

Annie huffed. "And if you did? Would you have paired me with somebody else for personal reasons?"

Auggie looked offended. "No! You know me better than that."

"Jealous Auggie is somebody I've never known before." Annie responded.

Auggie sighed and leaned his head back against the seat. "Yeah, well, here I am." He responded quietly.

Annie went into Langley and Auggie waited while she checked in and provided a debrief. Soon they were on their way to his apartment.

As had become ritual, Auggie inspected her body after they went to bed. He was extra thorough, considering what Annie had been through. While Annie wanted to be irritated with his jealousy, the way he touched every inch of her body gave her comfort. She understood his jealousy, and gave in to her desire to comfort him, as well.


	30. The past

Annie wasn't as comfortable as she should be. She and Auggie had a stressful day full of polygraphs and bureaucracy. Rather than talking about it, they had quietly eaten dinner and collapsed into each other's arms.

Her heart wasn't into the love-making, but she could tell that Auggie needed the exertion to relieve himself off the stress of the day. His touch was comforting, but left her with a different level of discontent.

Auggie himself seemed perfectly content lying on his side next to her, ghosting her body with his fingers. His eyes were open, but his unfocused gaze was in a relaxed place that Annie usually associated with the moments when he first woke up in the morning. There was so much about him that made her wonder, and so little information he was really willing to share.

"Sometimes I wish I knew how to get in touch with Natasha." Annie said.

Auggie rose his eyebrows and propped himself up on one elbow. Now his eyes were wide awake. "Are you mad at me?"

Annie laughed and turned toward him, touching the side of his face with her hand. "No reason to be mad. It's just that sometimes I wonder. It would be interesting to compare notes."

Confusion took over Auggie's face. "Compare?" He asked. "Do you think-"

"No. I just..." Annie didn't know where Auggie's thoughts were heading, but he seemed to always misunderstand this need that she had. She needed to know about the history of August Anderson, and she would take whatever information was available at her clearance level at this point.

She ran her fingers down his arm, swirling her fingers around his muscles. "Your work history is all classified. You never talk about your childhood. You haven't introduced me to your brothers, even though one of them lives right here in DC. You have mysterious people all over the world that are willing to stop and help you at a moment's notice, and I accept that I may never know how you have made those connections. Is it too much for me to crave to know such little details of your past that I might want to talk to an ex-girlfriend, if only so I can understand if you always got goosebumps when touched right here?"

Auggie shuddered as Annie's fingers worked at the base of his scalp. "Yes." He said simply.

"Yes it's too much?" The irritation was clear in her voice. Her hand stopped it's gentle touch and placed a flat, tense pressure against the back of his neck.

"No." Auggie corrected. "I've always enjoyed being touched there."

Annie relaxed her hand.

"It's not like I really catalogued these things in my memory, but I think I always enjoyed being touched."

Annie moved her hand again. This time not in the comforting ways of their intimate moments together, but in a way meant to comfort him into saying more.

"I guess the main difference between now and my younger days is how much touching I do."

He punctuated the statement by running his fingers over her body.

He sighed, as if giving in to her request took a physical toll on him. "I used to always love the look in a woman's eyes when I touched her just right. Of course, there were always moments when eye contact wasn't possible, but if you are trying to compare me to the lover I was when I could see, that's probably the biggest difference. In an entirely conceited way, I loved watching the effect that I had in the heat of the moment."

Auggie was silent. If he could see his partner now, he would know she was disappointed at his apparent stopping point.

"Being with you means I'll never get the full story, doesn't it?" Her voice conveyed both frustration and acceptance.

Auggie responded with irritation of his own. "You think this is easy for me?"

Annie was more calm. "I could ask the same thing." She sat up in bed and swallowed down her emotion. "You know everything about me, yet all I know about your past is that you have one. You didn't hatch from an egg the day I joined the agency. Your life history didn't begin the moment we kissed. We've been together for six months, and while I feel like you have let me in on 90% of the here and now, I still have no idea about the man you used to be."

Auggie sat up while Annie was talking and rather than reaching for her, he leaned against the headboard. Her frustrations lingered in the air for a minute, thickly separating their bodies.

"I used to go release my frustration by running." He said quietly, biting his lip. "I would run to think. I ran to relax. I ran to clear my mind. There was nothing as better than putting miles beneath my feet and being completely, totally, alone."

Annie sat in front of him, her legs brushing against his. He swallowed and kept talking.

"I was probably a bit of an ass."

Annie gave a huff of agreement in response.

"Hey!" Auggie responded.

"You are on a roll." Annie responded.

Auggie sighed. Annie could tell that he was shutting down on her. "Back to your original question. I don't know what Natasha would say about the way my lovemaking has changed since the accident. I notice the little things more. I never noticed goosebumps so much, so I've either gotten better at what I do, or it's something I never noticed. I was careless with my hands, I honestly never knew how much women enjoyed being touched."

Auggie swallowed. "That enough?" He asked.

"For tonight." Annie replied. "Thank you." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"It's not that I don't trust you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah." Annie replied.

They laid back down and Auggie pulled her close. She was more fidgety than normal.

Since Annie obviously wasn't falling asleep he spoke up again. "How about we have dinner with Pete and his other half later this week?"

"Pete has another half?" Annie asked.

"Sometimes. I can't keep up. I think he's still in his most recent relationship. If it isn't some guy named Mark, it's a Rick or Steve."

"Is that why you haven't introduced me?" Annie asked.

"No." Auggie nuzzled close to her ear. "I've just been selfish. And my brothers are all jerks. Consider this as my way of protecting you."

"Thanks." Annie replied. She wasn't sure if she was thanking him for sharing, protecting, or for introducing his brother. But she felt like she had cracked a little bit of Auggie's shield.

_**A/N - This would have been posted a half-hour ago, but I had to study the newest interviews for WillyNilly23. It's my civic duty. **_

_**Also, I'm trying to talk Pseudonymitous into taking part of this for her AU series. Annie and Natasha, should she do it? **_

_**Finally, there is a classic movie reference buried in the last part. Does anybody get it? **_


	31. Sparkle

"Even odds say you aren't interested in watching the fireworks tonight."

Annie was standing in front of the wall of stars, where she had been deep in thought for a while. "Are you?" She replied.

Auggie was quiet a moment. "Maybe something more private?"

Annie swallowed her emotions and took Auggie's hand. She gently placed it on one of the stars. "I know they are anonymous, but this one is his. I saw them carving it that week."

He ran his fingers over the indention then stepped back and wrapped his arm around Annie. There were no words for moments like this.

"Do you have much to do today?" Annie asked.

"Not sure yet. We can check in, see if there are major security threats, then maybe pretend to be real government employees and take the day off?"

Annie nodded. "I'd like that."

They walked together to the DPD, just as they had a year ago. There were no tiny flags or cupcakes along the way, only painful memories.

That evening, Annie and Auggie cuddled together on the couch while fireworks exploded around the city. "I wonder where we would be, if he were still around." Annie stated.

"Who knows?" Auggie replied. "There are far too many variables in that 'if' statement. I'd like to think we would have ended up together, either way."

"I'm glad we were able to close the circle."

"Do you really think it's closed?" Auggie asked.

Annie looked at his face. "As much as it ever will be."

"Henry's information, it makes me wonder."

"And it always will." Annie responded. She sat up and pulled Auggie with her. "But for now, come on. I have my own way I want to celebrate tonight."

Annie guided Auggie up the service door to the roof and took in the view of the city. The official fireworks were over, with the noise of illegal home-versions tapering off. She placed a blanket on the rooftop and urged Auggie to sit.

"I know that it's customary to light a candle to remember a loved one, but Jai was a patriot, and he died on the Fourth of July, so I thought this would be more appropriate." She pulled out two sparklers and touched one to the back of Auggie's hand. His eyes lit up as he discovered what it was.

"You think this is safer than lighting a candle in my apartment?" Auggie asked.

"I think you'll get more out of it." Annie replied. She lit her sparkler, then touched Auggie's. They sat silently, each holding the fiery stick until the flame died, leaving them with silence.

Annie pulled the charred stick out of Auggie's hand, and set them aside. They held each other for a little while, remembering the friend who's death sparked a course of events that led to them being in each other's arms.


	32. Morehoused

**_A/N This story is brought to you by my holiday weekend, my fascination with fandom's fascination with a character that was literally in one episode of the whole series, and last night on Twitter. The title comes from Copper, which Dylan Taylor is in. Even if you don't want to watch Copper, you should follow the cast on Twitter, because they are fun and will make you want to watch._**

* * *

Annie laughed as she remembered that this was all Barber's idea.

Stu was back in town. Annie barely knew Stu because he accepted a transfer to the Tokyo desk soon after her arrival in the DPD, but the men of Tech Ops were excited about reuniting with their old friend, and insisted that she join in the fun.

While it wasn't unusual for Auggie and Annie to join the guys from the DPD and Tech Ops for a few drinks, this time Barber gave them a ride so Annie wouldn't have to drive. Because of this luxury, Annie imbibed a bit more than usual, encouraging Auggie to do the same. Even strangers were amazed at the couple's ability to hold down shots of cheap tequila.

They had a blast, and stumbled into Auggie's apartment after midnight.

"I never knew the CIA geek squad could be so much fun." Annie said as she leaned against the counter.

Auggie smirked as he tried to find the tray for his cane and keys. "There are still some mysteries of the DPD for you to discover."

She walked back to Auggie and placed everything in the tray for him. "Like the incredibibly uncoordinated drunked August Anderson?"

Auggie grounded himself by placing his hands on her face. "Says the woman that is talking in cursive?"

"Says she who is trying to unbelt your pants." Annie said.

"Hard to walk anywhere with my pants undone."

"Pffff. Details. Always thinking of the details." Annie said as she walked away. "Let's have a glass of wine before bed."

Auggie was about to protest, but heard Annie already operating the corkscrew and shrugged. He found his way to the couch and deposited himself unceremoniously in the middle. Soon Annie danced over and placed a glass against his hand.

"Stu is far more interesting that I remember."

"You knew him for, like, a week."

"I'm trained to read people in less than a week. I didn't read him as one to talk us into getting this plastered."

"He's shy." Auggie responded with a shrug. "He was always different at the bar than in the office. But I think Tokyo has opened him up a little, as well."

"Hm. Do you think Barber is getting laid tonight?"

"That's why we took the cab home, my dear. I hope so."

"Do you think you are getting laid tonight?" Annie asked, playfully.

"I think I'm going to bed with a very drunk, very beautiful woman."

"Who speaks cursive." She reminded him.

"I'm adding that to your file in the morning."

"We aren't going to the office in the morning." Annie reminded him.

"I'm adding cursive to your file whenever I'm back at the office. I might even hand-write it in your file. In cursive."

Annie laughed. "That would be most appropriate."

Auggie drained his wine glass and sat it in the spill tray on the coffee table. "Why are we talking about work when you could be in bed with me?"

...

Annie's mouth was incredibly dry when she woke up the next morning. She heard a recorded voice talking in the living room, and assumed this meant that Auggie had brewed coffee. Willing the world around her to stop spinning, she made her way toward the kitchen.

She stopped halfway to the coffee pot to stare at her boyfriend, who was laying flat on the hardwood floors. "Now, you see, if I did this it be incredibly dangerous." She quipped.

"The cold feels good." Auggie mumbled before turning his head so his cheek was flat against the floor.

She stepped over his body. "If you say so." Noticing the empty coffee cup by his hand, she picked it up for a refill. While she didn't recognize the audiobook that was playing, the narrator had a soothing voice that seemed perfect for the morning.

"For the record, after a night of binge drinking, you should have water before bed, not more wine." Auggie spoke from the floor.

"Yeah, well, my judgment was impaired. I didn't shove it down your throat."

"Nope. Can't believe you gave me a hangover, Walker."

"You did it all yourself, dear. I just came along for the ride."

"Can't believe Stu gave me a hangover." Auggie whined.

"At least we have the day off and can take it easy. Easy like Sunday morning."

"That song never made sense to me. As long as Sunday mornings follow Saturday evenings, they aren't going to be easy."


End file.
